Destiny in the Stars
by Neko Kuroban
Summary: Professional bounty hunter Tifa Lockheart is hired to kill an assassin. She will perform her duty, personal feelings be damned. Perhaps. Sephiroth/Tifa. AU.
1. Chapter One: The Assignment REVISED

**Destiny in The Stars**

**By: Neko Kuroban**

**[ k_hockey16@hotmail.com ]**

**Chapter One:**

**Shards**

*******

**Author's Notes: **I was thinking about writing a humor fic with this but when I began writing, all that would come is this semi-serious fic, with only a few bits of humor planned for the next few chapters. Anyway, this was greatly inspired by Gundam Wing, G Gundam, Tenchi Muyo, Tenchi Universe, and Dragon Ball Z. 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Final Fantasy VII, the Gundam series, Tenchi or Dragon Ball/ Dragon Ball Z/ Dragon Ball GT… although this story line is mine! *clutches fic protectively*

**Pairings:** various

**Warnings:** Out-of-character-ness, Yuffie is portrayed somewhat seriously, some of the pairings for later in this fic may offend some people.

*******

_Two hundred years from our time, the world falls into chaos when a nuclear war begins, destroying most of humanity. The few thousand survivors, gathered amongst the ruins of the earth, managed to salvage a few parts of a derelict laboratory that focused on space travel, containing blue prints for eight colonies to be built in deep space, ready to sustain human life when Earth became too crowded. Unfortunately, there are other humanoid races out there, and they have colonies and home planets of their own. _ _After almost a hundred and fifty years, a deep tension has been built up between planets, and now wars and threats are frequent, leaders are constantly being murdered, pirates roam space, tyrants are trying to gain mastery and more..._

*******

The twin moons hung silvery and low in the night sky. The lands that would one day become his empire were before him, waiting. 

He would show them. He would show them _all_ that he was not the weak child who had allowed himself to be manipulated by beauty. Never again, he vowed, would he allow himself to be led into a foolish trap, such as the one his former wife had led him into. But first he had to remove the opposition.

He swept his gingery-gold bangs out of his face with a distracted hand, a cruel smile forming as he turned away from the glass wall that provided a view of the treetops of the thick forest that surrounded the compound and the cold, dazzling stars. This planet and it's nearly extinct native race were almost at the end of their usefulness, but it was a backwater place, and from it, the Galaxy Police – nothing but peacekeepers and bodyguards anymore, or, more often, thieves in expensive uniforms – were unaware of his hushed machinations. He overwrote the law of the continent his headquarters were situated on, quietly offered bribes to keep peace.

Slowly, he began to walk down the angrily twisting cold metal stairs that led to the high balcony of the tinted glass tower Rufus Shinra had claimed as his office, towards the main floor. His grip tightened on the manila folder in his hands, his pace quickened as he crossed the dark marble floor. He halted six feet away from his desk, his ice-blue eyes sweeping over the female sitting on top of the cold metal surface of his desk.

She was dressed in inconspicuous civilian clothes, an un-tucked white business shirt and loose black pants, though an ebony cape was folded neatly on her lap. Thick hair, the color of melted dark chocolate, spilt to her slender thighs. Ruby eyes that could have been considered innocent, had they not whispered of things that no one should have to bear witness to, flashed at him inquisitively. No one would ever guess that she was his agency's top bounty hunter. 

"This is your target," he stated bluntly, setting the file folder on the desk, near her left knee.

Wordlessly, she opened it, scanning the top sheet profiling the dangerous professional assassin before her garnet gaze settled on the attached photograph. "The Great Sephiroth..." she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

The old woman who had been his nursemaid in his youth, before the … incident … had often told him that the eyes were windows to the soul, and he tried to understand what she had meant, as he looked into the young woman's eyes. Beneath their scarlet haze, they were a mosaic of bright crimson – fresh blood, he decided – deep, reddish-brown – dried blood – and flecked with a rich, deep violet – repressed emotion. 

He had been born with a faint, barely there talent in reading minds. It rarely worked, especially with her, but sometimes, sometimes, he could catch a thought. He closed his eyes halfway, keeping them slightly open so he could react in case she decided to try anything – although after two years, if she was going to, it would have happened already. He tried to slip into her consciousness, while she was distracted with the photograph. There was a jumble of things floating around, taunting him. He reached for one, only to slam against her barriers as she snapped her head up.

Her glare spoke volumes. '_Don't try to get inside my head, Shinra._'

Rufus did not have the grace to apologize. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets, smirking at her. "You think you can take him?"

"Yes," Tifa replied automatically, leaning back onto her black-gloved palms, "But it'll cost you."

Rufus sat in his chair, causing her to scoot to the side. He folded his hands, leaning forward. "Name your price."

"Four million...it's expensive, Shinra, but I know that you can afford it. The situation is… delicate." 

His eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

Rufus felt a mild stir of regret, as beneath her mask, her pale face begged him to understand.  "This isn't just another killing for me."

"Fine." He scowled as she stood, bowed once, and strode out of the room. 

* * *

Meanwhile, on a spaceport, Aeris Gainsborough closed her eyes and drew in a deep, steady breath. She had grown up in a war-torn land, large crowds never failed to unnerve the young woman.  She disliked space itself, knowing that all of the colonies she visited were synthetic, disliked the knowledge that there wasn't a single place in any of the colonies where one could be comfortable, or surrounded by nature.  And, although she had only visited one other alien world in her life beside the planet she was born on, she had an instinct that most were the same.

She had been born a mage, an unusual one at that. Her magic was unlike others, somewhere two paths of her life had blended into one, giving her an awkward combination of green and white magic. For a long while, she had tried to ignore the calling of her magic, attempting to hold a stable, respectable job, however, the plant magic made cities hard for her to bear, and she often found herself restless in them. 

Space ports – miniature colonies, following the orbit of a planet's moon, that usually offered resting places and large, communal shuttles – were not terrible, they were usually technologically advanced, unlike some of the colonies, which were rapidly aging, and built around a central park, to keep the spiral shape of them from being disrupted. 

Fingering the electronic locks on her suitcase, she sighed, 'How did things get this bad?' She wondered, getting to her feet from the concrete bench. Lifting her burden, she walked slowly to the ID check line, glancing to the many bright-lit displays. It seemed the final round of a tournament of some sort was being held today between the champion from this spaceport and the undefeated one from another and hundreds were eager to witness the event.

After a wait that seemed interminable, she reached the white counter, giving the bored-looking young clerk a pleasant smile as she bent over the console situated in the wall next to the desk. She pulled a plastic-coated identification card from the deep pocket of her robe, inserting it into the slot. The clerk scanned the readout, then nodded at her. 

Aeris walked away, finding her attention drawn toward one of the many small shops that lined the 'port. She ignored the stares that her garb received. Her insubstantial, white cotton-woven robe and slightly heavier pink over-robe reminded her of home, faintly scented with lilac, from the sachets she kept tucked into the bottom of her suitcase. They were not entirely practical nor fashionable, but they were what she felt most comfortable in, why should she let what anyone else thought matter to her? 

In one of the stores, she found herself turning a clear stone over and over in one hand. The rock was rounded, fit perfectly in her hand and was cool to the touch, with a pale blue inclusion in the center that scattered light across her face. '_It feels like my friend.' She decided, reading the small card propped up on the shelf. _

"Spelled for happiness, huh?" Her mouth twitched into a smile. Great, now she was talking to herself. _Oh well, _Aeris figured with a mental shrug, _it beats having no one to talk to._ "I guess I ought to get one." The price would be somewhat of a financial strain, but, as the standard currency wasn't accepted where she was going nor would there be a place to exchange into the accepted system, let alone any true use for money there, she might as well buy something she liked before she left. 

After paying for, what she dubbed in the back of her head, her 'friendly rock' and a few packages of soft, creamy Aprophian delicacies that she remembered that she had always had a sweet tooth for, she looked around, popping a caramel-filled candy in her mouth. Most of the previous crowds had disappeared, the beginning of the tournaments were starting. She was definitely more comfortable, even starting to enjoy herself.

A cry tore through the air, "Get back here!"

Aeris turned, to see who had spoken when someone crashed into her, throwing her off balance. She climbed to her feet, offering a hand to a raven-haired girl. The girl, rather hastily, accepted it, looking nervous. 

"Sorry about that," the girl apologized quickly, no real remorse in her playful voice. She was slim, and fine-boned, Aeris noted, clad in a tan trench coat that swirled about her calves. Her face was tanned, with sharp, unquestionably Wutain features. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"No, I was in the way…" Aeris offered, but the girl was gone, she had ran off the moment the words had left her mouth.

A tall, heavy-set man strode to her. "Did you see a scrawny little chit just run by here?" He grunted. He was broad-shouldered, with a handlebar mustache and pale, fleshy features, shaved bald on top with a clump of gray-streaked red shaved in a complicated web in the back. A triangle of crimson silk was tied around his head like a bandana, with a gold hoop in one oversized ear. Signet rings gleamed on eight fingers, all of them set with stones. He glared down his large nose as he spoke to her rather than making eye contact, and, judging from the way he held his hands, enjoyed hitting people he disliked. 

Aeris shivered, recalling old memories. "No." she lied softly. 

Unseen, a silver-haired assassin pocketed the white strip of cloth that had been used as a headband by his target, and, strode out of the entrance. 

* * *

Yuffie Kisaragi sank gratefully onto a park bench, gasping for breath. 

She didn't know _why_ the bloody shopkeeper was so upset. It wasn't like he couldn't afford to replace the heavy ring, and she would have gladly _paid_ for it if he hadn't been so incredibly _rude_, refusing to admit her into his shop on account of her ancestry. Damn it, it wasn't her fault Wutain trades had caused her race to be considered tricky and underhanded. As the future empress of their planet – her once great empire had fallen during a war with Aprophia when she was a child – she swore to change their reputation, and restore their glory. 

But first, she just had to learn to survive, and keep herself from being manipulated.

Drinking in the scent of flowers that had adapted well enough to bloom on the spaceport, she fumbled with the heavy ring in her pocket. Platinum. Set with bloodstones. It was good for…

"You are Yuffie Kisaragi." The voice was deep, with rich, nearly melodious undertones, and sounded almost amused with her scattered appearance.

She glanced up, uncurling her fingers from the metal band, and glared at the figure that stood over her, cursing herself for not hearing the footfalls. 

Pale with long, silvery hair pulled into a ponytail at his neck, she thought he was at first a human, perhaps an albino. However, the stunning turquoise eyes and Wutain features betrayed that. He wore tight black pants, highlighting his thin waist and muscled legs, and an ebony shirt with a v-neck that revealed a toned, muscular chest. He looked young, perhaps in his mid twenties, but she had never been very good at judging age. He moved with a fluid grace, a kind of grace that was like an autumn wind whispering through the changing trees, and her breath hitched in her throat for a single moment.

That sort of perfection did not come without a price.

"What do you want?" she demanded suspiciously, getting to her feet and keeping her frame as tall and regal as she possibly could. Realizing he was armed and most likely held the intent to fight her, Yuffie hastily undid the belt of her weighted coat and threw it to the cement. Unashamed in her revealing, untraditional attire, she sunk into a fighting stance and removed a metal disc. She pressed a hidden button, sharp angry spikes jutted out. "You should know something about," She could not help but pause condescendingly, at the possible hybrid. "_Pure_-blooded Wutains." 

Sephiroth's gloved hand moved to the tip of his blade's hilt, and Yuffie's heart ached for home. His sword was a katana, the favored weapon of her home world. Her well-trained eye could tell that the tip was honed sharp enough to part flesh at touch. Katanas were traditional weapons of the samurai of ages past, long and light, beautifully swift. They weren't difficult to use, but hard to master as the length and speed could often prove to be a problem. He arched a perfect silver eyebrow at her. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Yuffie grinned, in spite of herself, "You see, in the light of the full moon, our strength is increased by tenfold."

* * *

Aeris hadn't gone to the tournament, but, to her surprise, it had been displayed on view screens around the port. The days' victor was the reigning champion from another spaceport, after a brutal match with a tall, furred alien who had kept his both his fists clenched the entire time, arising Aeris's curiosity. Aeris frowned, feeling incredibly dim-witted, as she found herself standing outside the locker rooms. 

A door opened on the right, and the blue-furred creature strode out, his steps heavy. He resembled a panther, but stood on his bulky hind legs like a humanoid creature. She had a feeling his ears were like also like a felines' but she couldn't look to verify, they were hidden beneath a mass of white hair. Aeris pressed herself flat against the stucco wall – the tournament halls and the lodge rooms were usually the more comfortable places on space ports, with coverings over the flat, usually sheet metal walls - as he walked past. He barely glanced at her as he walked, his face was focused on the floor. At the end of the corridor, about eight yards away, the creature stopped and threw something to the ground angrily before moving on, tail twitching back and forth. 

Aeris waited until he was gone before going to inspect it. It was a black plastic device, a single square button in the center. She tried to emulate what the creature had most likely done; she placed it in her left hand, pressed the button with her middle finger. A strange warmth spread through her body. Her lips tightened, and she nodded to herself, forming a fist to contain the warmth. She pressed her balled up hand against the white stucco. When she removed it, there was a dent in the hard material, her ring had torn cleanly through. She pressed the button again and the warmth stopped. 

'_Bingo.' She thought grimly, moving back to her original location by the door opposite the one the device's user had come out of. The door she was standing near hissed open and the golden-haired victor walked out. She winced in imagined pain as she studied him. She always hated seeing _anyone_ in pain. His arm was broken at an alarming angle, the sleeve of his skintight combat outfit torn off and turned into a makeshift sling. _

"Um, hi…" she began, suddenly awkward. 

He turned his head a fraction of an inch to look at her, as if to show how much he cared. Aeris internally gasped, he was only her age, perhaps even a few months younger than herself. Yet his brilliant sapphire eyes spoke of someone much older, someone who had known true loneliness. "What do you want?" He asked frostily.

"I, um…" She cleared her throat, regaining confidence, "You're Cloud Strife, right?" He nodded, and she tried a pleasant smile, though she found it lacking, considering the circumstances. "Your opponent… the Ronso. He cheated."

"In case you hadn't noticed, I won."

"Just for today," She argued lightly, "And the way you both are seeded now, you could have to fight again." Aeris looked straight at him, holding out the hand with the device in it. "Looks like one of Rein's products, wouldn't you agree?" 

"I'll inform the committee." He snatched the electronic from her hand, his calloused fingers brushing her palm. "Keep quiet about this, alright?"

She shivered at the contact, not wanting to see him go. It had been a long time since she had a real conversation with anyone, even longer since she had a friend. '_What am I, an old maid starved for love?' she wondered, even as she watched him start to walk away. "Wait!" She called. _

He turned, "Now what?"

She sauntered toward him, "I'm a healer," She looked at his injured arm, the crimson slash across his chest from the Ronso's claws, the obviously recent break in his otherwise straight  nose, bruise on his left cheek. "Could I…? I mean, is it against the rules or anything?"

He snorted, "Why do you care?"

"Because…" Aeris fumbled. _Why_ did she care? She hated seeing others in pain; it was something she could empathize with, but she was more accustomed to emotional pain rather than physical pain. She bit her bottom lip, was it because this striking young man seemed to have too much of both, but she only had the power to lessen one? Yes, that seemed to be it. "Because I'm thinking about betting on you tomorrow, genius." It wasn't a lie, she decided. He was strong, she had money to waste, and it would make him feel good. "So, is it against the rules?"

He smirked slightly, offering his arm, "No. Just get it over with and _go." _

She grinned as she placed one hand on his well-built upper arm, the other on his wrist. She closed her eyes, imagining soft white light. She mentally began to straighten out his arm, painlessly popping the bone back into place. The bruises, and the bump in his nose that testified to a break, were simple, she merely set the bone right, imagined his chiseled face without the swelling and the redness that would turn into black-violet by the next day. The cut was harder, it was long and it was deep. If she wasn't careful, it would result in what she called a 'healing scar', with the potential of the smooth, re-grown flesh tearing open later. She tightened her grip, glad she had done the arm first. She focused her energy, imagining nothing but the two of them standing in a soft mist, ocean water lapping distantly. The gentle wind wrapped around the pair…healing and rejuvenating. 

Her head buzzed faintly as she opened her eyes, a mild side effect of intense healing. Nothing remained of his injuries, Aeris realized proudly, except a purposeless sling and dried blood on his toned chest. She gave him a reassuring smile as she reached into her pocket, and removed a pen. She wrote down her room number, 212A, on his palm. "Come tell me when you report to your committee." the mage's smile widened to a grin, "And I'll remember to bet on you." She walked away, her unconventional robes trailing on the tile behind her.

*******

**Author's Notes:** Chapter one revision is complete, and hopefully a great less deal confusing. And for the impatient, chapter eleven is almost finished.


	2. Chapter Two: Memories

**Destiny In The Stars:**

**By: Neko Kuroban**

**Author's Notes:** Thank you to all who reviewed! It inspired me to write this chapter just for you all during a very uneventful geography class and finish it during science... *wonders if anything talked about would be on the test* Nah...Anyway! Please leave a review! 

**Warnings:** Angst with some *slight* comic relief, and slight violence. Also, Sephiroth is sort of portrayed as the villain in Tifa's flashback, but I'll make up for it later! I promise!

**Pairings for this chapter:** Hints of Cloud/Tifa, hints at Sephiroth/Tifa, hints of Cloud/Aeris (My, Cloud gets around a lot ne? *a very blatant Cloud-hater*)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Final Fantasy VII, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Tenchi Muyo, Tenchi Universe, G Gundam or Gundam Wing... But I do own this plot... a few plushies, random doujinshi, an old beat-up copy of 'Call it Courage' I've had since fourth grade, the Sailor Moon S manga, a pack of gum, and my blue spiral notebook, all of which were found while cleaning out my closet yesterday.

*******

**Chapter Two:**

**Memories And War**

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_"A year ago, this day..." His breath was warm on her ear, "You really didn't think that I would forget, did you?"_

_"No..." she whispered softly, leaning into his touch unconsciously, as he fastened the necklace for her._

_His lips brushed hers momentarily, teasingly at first, then capturing them into a quick kiss, then he pulled away, "Two weeks." He promised._

_"Two weeks, Sephiroth._

**_***_**

_She gasped as she surveyed the scene from the door way. The fire raged out of control, reaching up to nip at the ceiling and consuming the furniture slowly, reducing anything in its path to smoldering ash. _

_But worst of all...Sephiroth stood, staring at the damage, his hair teased by the hot wind the flames created, as he laughed darkly, leaving little doubt in her mind that he had been the one to cause it. _

_"Sephiroth," she gasped out as he walked over to her, "What-" She broke off as the ceiling gave a creak of complaint. Wordlessly, he pushed her backwards into the hallway, causing the slender girl to land in an undignified heap._

_Frowning at her for a short moment, he walked out of the building._

_"Tifa!" Cloud's voice broke through the crackling of the flames, and sprinting over to her, he gathered her into an embrace. _

_And she returned it as if he was her dearest friend._

_As if he was Sephiroth._

**_***_**

_Tifa's voice came out in a ragged shout, as she ran after him, finally stopping on the landing. "Cloud!"_

_He turned to face her, his eyes cold even from his spot at the bottom of the staircase. "There was nothing I could've done," he snapped, "The colony would've been destroyed by the Dark Generals anyway, Sephiroth only sped up the process after the alliance is broken." Silently, after giving her a look of disgust as she slid to the floor like a child's discarded old toy amidst piles of flamboyant wrapping paper on Christmas morning, buried her face in her knees and wept, he strode away._

_Lifting her head momentarily, Tifa yanked the necklace he had given her off roughly and threw it against the opposite wall. "I hate you, Sephiroth..." she whispered, her eyes flashing._

**_***_**

_"You are Tifa Lockhart?" The infamous man known as Rufus Shinra asked, tossing his bangs out of his eyes._

_"Yes, I am." she replied briskly, trying not to let impatience seep into her voice._

_"Your reputation precedes you, Miss Lockhart." He chuckled, "Beautiful, intelligent-"_

_"What is it that you want?" Tifa snapped, clenching her fists._

_Rufus smirked, "And rash." He unfolded his arms, and stared at the clouds drifting lazily across the crimson sky of the alien world almost casually, "Would you like to join my agency?"_

_"I work for myself." She answered._

_"But a stable career for a bounty huntress of your ability...doesn't that appeal to your interests?"_

_Tifa paused, looking at the cobblestone roads of the garden. A moment passed. "Yes, Rufus-sama. Yes, it does."_

**_***_**

A year had passed since then, and her mind had become too distracted to worry about filling the void the loss of Cloud and Sephiroth had created. But now...lying on her unmade bed in her ship, the contents of the manila folder scattered on the floor and Sephiroth's picture in hand, the pain was sharp and almost fresh.

Blinded by a sudden surge of indignant fury, she tore the photograph into shreds just so that she wouldn't have to endure his cocky smirk, then flopped onto her stomach. 

Something hot pricked at her eyes, but she clenched them tightly, pressing her face into the pillow. 

She didn't want to shed anymore tears.

She hadn't since that day...

Forcing her tensed muscles to relax, she fell into a fitful slumber.

*******

Aeris chalked a large white star onto the cold metal floor of the room she had rented at the space port, and carefully added five runes to every section but the middle - those for wisdom, strength, honesty, courage and... love. 

Pulling her long, straight skirt around her knees, she sat in the center and closed her eyes, timing her breathing as she began to meditate. It was hard to do so, in this synthetic place, but she could still hear the spirits of the universe. 

They whispered to her of war, chaos, disorder, panic, suffering, death, fear, destruction and bloodshed.

The white mage fainted dead away.

*******

It was all Sephiroth could do to keep from laughing at the irony of the situation. "One problem," he all but grinned, turquoise eyes amused, "There is a full moon tonight, on your own colony, but, unfortunately for you, this space port has no moon." 

Yuffie's cursing was broken off by an authoritative voice.

"Excuse me, sir! But that girl is wanted for armed theft, assault and murder."

They both turned to see a young woman, her short blonde hair pulled into a messy bun, fumbling with a small electronic device. 

"Who are you?" Yuffie demanded, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Elena McKnight, of the Space Police!" she greeted, finally getting her identification to show up on the three-dimensional projector, "And you're officially under arrest...I have a warrant here somewhere..." she muttered, and began to dig into the deep pockets of her blue uniform, then lost her footing as tremors ran through the space port, her skull hitting the cement sidewalk with a 'thunk'.

Yuffie gasped and shoved her weaponry back into the case in her pocket, not caring that one tore at her blue denim shorts. "This place is under attack!" She yelled, grabbing her coat, "We've got to get out of here! We can finish our fight later."

Sephiroth nodded once, "My ship is just this way." He may not have enjoyed his line of work, but he was an assassin and if the ninja was going to die, he wanted to be the one to cause it. Wordlessly, he grabbed Elena by the waist, threw her over his shoulder and took off after Yuffie.

*******

Cloud crashed into the door, just as he was about to knock, and discovered that it had been unlocked, as he fell onto the floor. 

Aeris - he had learned her name from the man at the ID check desk - was passed out and he wondered if she had been injured in the attack or if something else had happened to her.

He didn't have much time to ponder as the view screen flashed on, and a raven-haired woman in a red and black military uniform spoke.

**...To Be Continued...**

**Author's Notes: **

Please leave a review! And as for Sephiroth's behavior in Tifa's flashbacks, that will all be explained in another chapter. Next chapter should be up around spring break...hopefully.


	3. Chapter Three: Declaration of War

Title: Destiny in the Stars 

Author: Neko Kuroban

Author's E-mail: k_hockey16@hotmail.com

Chapter Three of ?

Chapter Title: Declaration of War

Rating: Mild PG-13

Warnings: None, really…except, maybe, for some irritating comic relief courtesy of our beloved Reno.

Chapter Pairings: Hints of Sephiroth/Tifa, hints of Cloud/Aeris, hints of Reno/Elena and hints of Tseng/Elena.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor anything that this fan fic was inspired by.

Author's Notes: This chapter sucks and is kind of pointless…unfortunately, I liked it too much to scrap it. So, I'll make you all forgive me by posting two chapters at the same time. But, hey Reno's in this one! And so is Tseng! (fan-girlish giggle) Does anyone else but me think that Tseng looks a little bit like Laguna Loire from Final Fantasy VIII? Anyway, this chapter contains evil plots, too much dialogue and Yuffie getting the brilliant idea to play strip poker. And, sorry, if I disappoint anyone with this chapter.

* * *

**Destiny in the Stars**

**Chapter Three:**

**Declaration of War**

**Neko Kuroban**

**[ k_hockey16@hotmail.com ]**

* * *

"We at colony AS-197, part of the ACRAI project and led by Lord Kaze and Lady Arisho,  officially declare independence from the planet of Astria and, at the same time, declare war on the planet and all Astrian-built space ports and colonies." The woman bowed her head slightly as the screen flashed off.

Cloud bit his bottom lip and stared at hard Aeris, then carefully picked the woman – she was still a girl, really – up from the steel floor and laid her on the large bed. He sat next to her, and clutched his forehead with a hand, then ran it down a cheek to brush his mouth, and finally just held his chin, staring at the wall. He was of the Astrian race himself, one of the greatest fighting races in the universe, or so it is believed. His sapphire gaze dropped to the floor, and, idly, he wondered what the large star and symbols were for.

* * *

A thin, lanky young man with piercing green eyes caught sight of something blue and gold slumped over a silver-haired male's shoulder in the distance. He jogged over, "Who're you?" He demanded of the stranger, who was accompanied by a slim girl in a trench coat. 

"I could ask you the same question." Sephiroth muttered under his breath.

"I'm her partner, Reno." the redhead pointed to the still-unconscious Elena.

"Sephiroth."

"We don't have time for this." Yuffie snapped furiously, gray eyes flashing. "This place is under attack. Hayaku!" [1] She growled, forgetting that they most likely could not understand Wutain. 

"Hai, ikuzo." [2] Sephiroth nodded, and smirked, startling the young ninja by using her native tongue. His leather-gloved hand moved gracefully over the small key pad and, a moment later, the doors to the ship hissed open. "Come on." He ordered, when he noticed Yuffie stop in the doorway.

"It's just..." She licked her bottom lip carefully, her front teeth soon followed.

"I'm not going to kill you until we make planet fall." He elegantly turned and walked through the narrow passageway to the bridge of the ship, where Reno was most likely waiting.

* * *

"Did you make the announcement, Acia?" a soft female voice asked innocently, but her cold, cruel words seemed to slice through the air like a thousand daggers, and twist themselves around the raven-haired general like venomous snakes.

Acia suppressed a shudder. Though her superior's voice was always soft and delicately feminine, her words constantly carried deadly intentions, "Yes, my lady."

"Good." She smirked in the shadows provided by the dim lighting, "No one will ever suspect anything is going on if there is a war. And they would never suspect me. I'm just the lord of AS-197's sweet and wonderful wife. Always calm, poised and elegant, correct?"

Acia gritted her teeth. No matter how terrifying she was, the duchess's arrogance constantly irritated her. "Yes, my lady."

* * *

Two hours later found Sephiroth staring at the obsidian sea before him, his turquoise eyes not focusing on any given point. 'I wonder if she still has it...' he mused, his eyes half-closing. He still remembered that day, when he had given her that amethyst necklace. It had been enchanted by a powerful sorceress to protect the bearer against danger and had once belonged to his mother...or so he had been told.

Reno's exuberant voice preceded him, interrupting Sephiroth's contemplation. "Hey, guys!" He yelled, running into the room, a red and white box of playing cards in hand. "Look what I found!"

Elena looked up and re-capped the small, travel-size bottle of purple nail polish Yuffie had found inside her coat, "You made me mess up on this last one." She scowled, and flexed her foot, where everyone could see that the lilac paint had gone off her nail and onto the pale skin of her pinky toe.

However, Yuffie's eyes lit up, "Can I be dealer?"

"No," Reno held onto the deck protectively, "I'm dealer."

The blonde rolled her cinnamon eyes, just as the ninja was about to shoot off a retort. "Reno, you're dealer." she instructed, "Yuffie, you can pick the game." She turned to Sephiroth, "C'mon, Seph!"

He sighed, and moved out of his chair to sit on the floor next to her. "I thought I told you not to call me that." The assassin frowned then, brushing a stray strand of hair out of his face. "Must I play?"

Elena nodded firmly, "No matter how long you stare at the controls, the ship is still going to need to be refueled at the nearest colony."

"I've decided what we're going to play." Yuffie broke in, trying to hide her malicious grin. "Strip poker."

* * *

A few hours later, an assortment of clothes lay in a heap on the floor. Yuffie had only lost her sash, coat, sneakers and left sock; Reno was sitting, his hair undone and falling loosely around his shoulders, in his yellow-striped socks, blue pants, and sunglasses; while Sephiroth, hit with unexpected good luck, had lost only his boots and right glove.

"I win." Sephiroth smirked coldly as he laid down a royal flush. Reno, grumbling, undid his belt, and Yuffie pulled off her other sock, but Elena sullenly crossed her arms.

"Come on, 'Lena." Reno gave her an irritated glance. "You lost too."

She scowled, (earning a "Hey, scowling causes wrinkles!" from the redhead at the same time) and managed to undo the first three buttons of her blouse, just as something inside her officer's coat began beeping. She crouched and pulled a small electronic communicator out, flipping it on, "Tseng!" She gasped as Reno shoved Yuffie none-too-gently into the hallway.

A flush appeared in his cheeks and she turned an interesting shade of pink, realizing what she must look like. Her hair was mussed from being in her bun all day, her shirt was partially unbuttoned, revealing the curves her uniform usually hid, and her pants were gone, showing her violet underwear off to Tseng. 'Oh God,' Elena mentally groaned, 'I have just ruined any chance I might've had with him...'

"Elena, what's going on?"  Tseng asked, suspiciously.

"Strip poker, boss!" Reno called, laughing.

The dark-haired man looked almost relieved that he hadn't interrupted something. "I see. You two have a new mission. Rude will give it the briefings on colony X159."

"Got it." his two officers called, saluting.

The small view screen went blank as Elena turned it off.

"Colony X159?" Yuffie repeated, tucking a rogue strand of ebony behind her ear, "I heard that that's a gambling colony." She glanced at the flashing monitor, "We'll get there in a few days."

Elena began shoving her clothes back on, "When we get there, I am not playing poker! Even if my life depends on it!"

* * *

Acia stood before her two finest spies, unwavering as she always was, unless, of course, she was in the presence of her lady, who could manage to unnerve anyone with a single passing glance.

With the possible exception of these two.

They had been trained in combat by her father, and, after he retired, herself, and had both attended the elitist of training camps. What was best about them, however, was that although they could work together harmoniously most of the time and without going at each other's throats even when furious with each other, they were a force to be reckoned with when either was caught alone and rarely liked to depend on any gadgetry.

She smirked, "You two know your orders, right?" When they nodded affirmation, she continued, "Go to X159, gather any information on them you can, then report back to me."

* * *

**Footnotes:**

[1]  Hayaku – Japanese:  hurry up!

[2] Ikuzo-Japanese: Let's go!

**Author's Notes: **Sorry, I needed a filler chapter before they get to X159! This fic will either be Tseng/Elena or Reno/Elena ... what do you all think?


	4. Chapter Four: Promises

**Title:** Destiny in the Stars 

**Author:** Neko Kuroban

**Author's E-mail:** k_hockey16@hotmail.com

**Chapter Four of ?**

**Chapter Title:** Promises

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** Romance, death threats, drama, AU

**Chapter Pairings:** Cloud/Aeris

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters nor anything that this fan fic was inspired by.

**Author's Notes:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed! *grins* I love you all, really! By the way, this chapter is dedicated to the wonderful Lucrecia LeVrai! ^^

And now...

* * *

**Destiny in the Stars**

**Chapter Four:**

**Promises**

**Neko Kuroban**

**[k_hockey16@hotmail.com]**

* * *

The cold, impersonal room was small, sterile-looking and like almost like all of the other rooms on this spaceport: sparse and almost everything was made from steel. Actually, to use 'sparse' to describe it would be somewhat of an understatement, the chamber was empty of everything but a padded bench and a loudspeaker near the ceiling. It lacked lights, but, had a majestic beauty about it, as one of the walls was completely made from glass, showing the surreal expanse of space, much to the delight of the two figures inside the room three days after the war was declared.

She smiled up at him demurely, causing Cloud to swallow heavily. 'God, she's beautiful.'

She was wearing white pants today, with a sleeveless ivory top that revealed her tanned shoulders and thin arms. The outfit hugged her slender, yet purely feminine figure body perfectly. Coy emerald eyes, framed by long, light lashes, were flickered up at him, holding his own sapphire gaze in complete rapture. But the most extraordinary thing about this angel - she had to have been one, what else could explain the odd spell she had cast over him? - was her hair. It was the color of wet sand the moment after the unforgiving tide pulls away, with a hint of gold, much like the sun's gentle fingers brushing that dampened material, pulled back from her face at the nape of her neck with a thick pink ribbon so that it fell in soft waves to the backs of her knees.

"Cloud, are you okay?" She asked, bringing him crashing back to reality.

"Huh?" He blinked for a moment, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." An uncomfortable silence followed, as he looked at the ground, then out the window; anything to avoid her gentle gaze. "So..." he trailed off.

"I guess this is good bye." Aeris's smile was sweet, "Thank you for staying with me until I woke up on Monday."

"You're welcome," Cloud rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "It's the least I can do for your healing my arm." 

She giggled, "You're welcome."

"So, where are you headed?" He asked.

A sadness overtook her eyes, and she lost her carefree attitude, "Earth."

"What?" The blonde gasped, "What would you - no, what would anyone want to go there for?"

The white mage bit her bottom lip, and turned to stare out the window, "It's a wasted planet, true, but..."

He went to stand next to her, placing a friendly arm around her slim shoulders, "But what?"

Aeris exhaled softly, placing her hand on the cold glass. Cloud stared at that hand, with her long, elegant fingers and golden bracelet, remembering the faint tingles of excitement that had coursed through his body when she had placed her hand upon his arm to heal him, and shivered. He smiled as he imagined how his mother would scold him if she were here. 'Get your mind out of the gutter, boy!' he could almost hear her say.

But nothing, nothing in this universe could have prepared him for what Aeris said next.

"My mother lives there...I grew up there." She gave a rueful smile, sitting on the bench, "I couldn't wait to leave when I was younger."

"So, why are you going back then?" Cloud blurted out before he could help himself.

The young woman looked down at her lap, "I received a....disturbing message from one of my mother's friends telling me to come. Speaking of which," She stood and picked up her suitcase, "I had better be on my way." Her eyes showed only a fraction of the pain she felt, "It was nice meeting you, Cloud Strife." Aeris extended her hand which Cloud accepted, gently yet firmly, his head spinning. As she turned to leave, he took note of the fact that his hand smelled like vanilla; a scent he knew he would always associate with her from this moment onward.

"Wait!" he called after her.

She turned, "What?"

He thought quickly, then ran forward and clasped her freehand once more, kneeling in front of her. "Let me come with you!"

Whatever Aeris had been expecting, it wasn't this. "What?!"

"I can be your body guard! You said there were monsters there, right?" He gave her his best smile and doe-eyed look.

Aeris giggled, "Okay."

* * *

Her legs were crossed and she had a look of annoyance etched on her features, Rufus noticed. 'Not a good sign.'

The woman sitting on the black leather sofa across from him was so ostentatious she could only be described as nothing short of stunning. Her golden earrings, ruby pendant, pale blonde hair swept into a fashionable bun and heels high enough to shatter a normal person's ankles all spoke of a woman who enjoyed the finer things in life.

It seemed to be true, as her fingers, each tipped with what looked like a shallow pool of freshly-spilt blood, were curled around the stem of a fancy wineglass filled half-way with a rich red-violet liquid, and, as she took a sip, Rufus wondered how she avoided smudging her lipstick.

And to top it all off, she wore a short, tight-fitting evening gown the same color as her name: Scarlet.

It was odd, though, that this woman was president of her own weapons company, and that most of the business's products were designed by her.

She leaned forward to set her drink down on the glass coffee table that separated them, affording him a view he had never really wanted to see from a woman almost twice his age. "And why would I agree to something as whimsical as this?"

Rufus folded his hands in his lap, "But, Ms. Reins, a merger would benefit both of our companies."

Scarlet smirked cruelly, her icy blue eyes dancing with amusement. "This coming from a man who employs 'bounty hunters' that are nothing more than hypocritical assassins." She leaned close until she was barely a foot away from him. "Your father was foolish, Rufus, thinking he could mess with my business empire. For that, he paid the price. Don't make the same mistakes." Getting to her feet, she tossed one edge of her gauzy decorative scarf over her shoulder and gave him a cool glare as she made her way across the lavish office.

"'Pay the price?'" Rufus repeated, leaping to his feet, his fists clenched at his sides, "My father died of a heart attack!"

"Are you sure?" She asked softly.

With that, she swept out of the room, leaving behind only the intoxicating scent of her expensive perfume and a half-empty wine glass.

* * *

**...To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Please review? *puppy dog eyes* Please?

**Next Chapter:** Reno and Elena get their assignment, Yuffie disappears, Vincent shows up in this mess and Sephiroth and Tifa have a brief 'meeting.' 

To quote Yuffie Kisaragi, "Oh, gawd!"


	5. Chapter Five: Aimless, Yet Lost

Author's Notes: Thank you, everybody! *_smiles like an idiot. An insane idiot but still, like an idiot_* This chapter was written during break when I should've been studying for science (I know it! I really do, Mrs. Garvis! Prophase, metaphase, anaphase...) but anyway! Angel of Silence, can I use your suggestion? I already have a bit of Chapter Six (read: a part that wouldn't fit in with this one) planned out, though it is somewhat reversed…

**Destiny in the Stars**

**By: Neko Kuroban**

**[k_hockey16@hotmail.com]**

**Chapter Five:**

**Aimless, Yet Lost**

Tifa strode across the dimly-lit casino, ignoring the smell of stale cigarette smoke, as she sat down on a black vinyl-covered stool at the bar. Her fingers brushed the side of a gray plastic ashtray, almost filled to the point of overflowing, mounted on to the polished surface. _'Why do they always attach these things, anyway?'_ She wondered, _'Do they think someone's going to steal a _used_ ashtray?' _

"What do ya want?" A gruff male voice asked. 

Tifa looked at the bartender for a brief moment. "Give me the strongest stuff you have." She moaned, fisting her bangs as the frustration of the past week overwhelmed her.

The dark-skinned bartender chuckled, "Yer jus' a kid. Yer problems can't be _that bad." He turned, muttering to himself, "I mean jus' this mornin', I was tryin' to leave an' my wife was naggin' at me to remember to put the down and take out the trash, and Marlene was havin' a fit 'cause…" Bottles clinked against glass, and something was pressed into Tifa's hand._

The bounty hunter blushed furiously as she realized that he had given her a cocktail, complete with a tacky umbrella. Before she could protest, he was off, tending to another customer. 'Oh, yeah.' She brought the glass to her lips and took a cautious sip of the liquid, though she wouldn't mind… 'No.' She told herself firmly, then sighed and slumped forward onto the counter. 

The nail of her index finger played along the edge of the ornament in her drink. She sighed again, feeling much like the tragic heroine in a horribly cliché romance or fantasy novel as she studied the decoration. It was a vibrant shade of electric blue with flashy swirls of viridian. Tifa crumpled it in her hand, splintering the fragile materials, '_Tormenting me even when you're not here, huh, Sephiroth?'_

A few colorful curses were sputtered behind her, and she spun to see two obviously drunk men, spewing insults in each others faces.

"How awful." Someone murmured, next to her. Tifa, glad for the distraction, turned to look at the slight girl in the next seat over. Hair tightly coiled and unreal, she wore too much cheap make up and a lacy white outfit that could only count as lingerie. Obviously a show girl. 

But the concern that knitted her narrow, plucked eyebrows was real.

She noticed Tifa looking, and elaborated, stirring her substandard wine. "I mean, it'll turn into a fight soon if nobody stops them!"

The brunette smirked confidently, to assure the girl, who looked far too young to even be in a place like this, much less _working_ here. "If it gets out of hand, we'll just tell the bartender or something…" She barely noticed the other female's small smile … _He_ had taught her how to fight, at first. She remembered…the day he had left her…

_***  
  
_

_She left the female's changing room numbly, her lips still tingling like she had never been kissed, and slowly walked across the recently-polished floor of the dimmed training hall, intent on registering one of the androids for use. _

_It seemed someone had other plans._

_"Well," a thick, muscular arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders, "It's nice seeing you again, _princess_." The word was drawn out, dripping with heavy sarcasm. "Where's your knight in shining armor?"_

_"Not here," She shifted uncomfortably and managed to wrench free, "What do you want, Draper?"_

_Damion__ Draper rose a single eyebrow and leered at her, full of hidden meanings. To her credit, Tifa did not blush. She knew exactly what she looked like in the regulation standard skin-tight combat suit and she was sick of people taking notice of it. Her fists clenched at her sides. The fact that it was Draper commenting on it made it all the worse. _

_He was – to put it simply – a brute, and his friends were not much better. He was ruthless, to say the least, and was known to use any means necessary to achieve his goals and get what he desired. However, for the past four months or so, it seemed that she fit into that category, if the whispers, strange glances, awkward questions and malicious rumors were anything to go by. Sephiroth had taught her how to defend herself, something they had both enjoyed. But now, she had a feeling he had taught her in case something like this happened._

_Fury flamed in Tifa's wine-colored eyes, and she lunged at Draper, who made no move to defend himself. He was probably expecting a slap and a cry of 'pervert' or something akin to that. She surprised him with a quick, sharp punch to his stomach and smirked in satisfaction as the air audibly emptied from his lungs. Gasping to regain his breath, he flung his arm out as he doubled over, shoving her backwards. Tifa stumbled, but somehow managed to regain her balance, and, as the cur straightened, returned the favor with a potent kick that would have shattered a normal person's ribcage on impact. As it was, his bones made a sickening '_crunch'_  that echoed off the worn stone walls and high ceiling, but Tifa paid it no heed, consumed in rage._

'So much for the great Astrian fighting spirit.' _She remembered thinking as his body went limp. Then, she gasped, realizing what she had done._

_"Everybody, lay off!" A blonde boy ordered loudly._

_An elderly man silenced him and said a few words to disperse the crowd of students and teachers that had formed, before walking over to Tifa. Bugenhagen, she knew him only by name and sight; he was an instructor mostly for the older students elective philosophy class._

_Tifa allowed him to shepherd her over to the bleachers, barely aware of what was going on. She looked at Daimon's unmoving body. _'It was an act of self-defense.'_ She reminded herself, but felt hot tears sting at her eyes in contradiction._

_"Tifa." Bugenhagen's voice broke through._

_"Y-yes?" She stammered, swallowing the lump that had formed in the back of her throat. The best that could happen was that she would be suspended – though, her father would have a fit, he was constantly reminding her of how much it cost for him to be able to send her to this school – the worst would be … Tifa frowned, trying to think of something terrible enough, even through her tears._

_She was unprepared for Bugenhagen's question._

_"You have somewhat of a romantic relationship with that boy, Sephiroth, correct?"_

'Have we been that obvious?'_ She asked herself, but mumbled, "Yes."_

_He nodded, as polite and nonjudgmental in the personal affairs of his students as ever, though his eternally calm obsidian eyes had a definite sparkle behind his sunglasses. "Good." He finally said, "He is currently on Misei. You can go."_

_"What?" She stared at him._

_Bugenhagen placed both hands on her shoulders, "Go to see him. _Be_ with him. Spend some time in each other's company. That will help you, Miss Lockhart."_

_***  
  
_

Tifa sipped her drink, '_only it didn't.' She stared at the liquid, as if trying to discern a hidden meaning._

When she had met him on Misei almost two weeks later, she was able to understand, for the time, what some people, namely the blonde swordsman who had told everyone to leave her alone, had told her he was capable of. 

Noticing that the bartenders had switched, she ordered a different drink.

* * *

Elena was carefully picking through the contents of the folder Rude had silently handed to her. She was seated at a small table in the corner of a unexpectedly nice café on the third floor of X159's most popular casino where they had agreed to meet, when Sephiroth sauntered over to her and sat as if it were nothing. She was more than just a little relieved at seeing him, although she had the feeling he was a more than average fighter. X159 was not an ideal sanctuary for those traveling unaccompanied. Although it was a wealthy place, many of the buildings were run-down and the crime and drug rates were high, there were many fights in the street, and many of the people living in the artificial land would not hesitate to assault visitors and steal their possessions.

"Where were you?" She finally asked.

He shot her an irritated glance, "Getting my ship refueled and upgraded."

Elena's eyebrows furrowed together. His one-sentence answers were rather irksome. He wasn't anti-social, he always answered to when asked a question…she suddenly grinned devilishly, eager to make him talk more. "By who?"

"Cid Highwind."

"_The Cid Highwind?" She gasped._

"Yes." He sighed, then shocked her by continuing, "You do **not** want to owe him money if you can help it…"

"Why?" Elena cocked her head to the side, then decided she didn't really want to know. "You don't have to answer that…" A few minutes passed, and she went back to skimming her reports. "Damn, what are we, rookies?" she muttered.

"Hmm?" Sephiroth's gaze flickered to her.

"Tseng's making Reno and me deliver some stupid disk to Scarlet Reins!" Elena growled, almost quietly.

"Scarlet Reins…" Sephiroth murmured darkly, "I know her."

This wasn't expected. "You do?" the attractive, blonde police officer questioned.

He nodded, "She uses war to fuel her company. Even if that means she has to start them herself."

Elena examined the table top, "How could anyone…"

"Fighting is an inborn part of universal nature." He interrupted, "Of course, usually it depends on the circumstances one is surrounded by that inspires them to take up arms."

She frowned; her cinnamon eyes were lit from within, debate was obviously something she enjoyed. "But a lack of weapons…"

"Hatred is a powerful weapon on its own." Sephiroth interrupted.

"But then, two people would only need to fight of their own violation and things like the elements." Elena argued.

"War is like an avalanche, in a way." Sephiroth countered silkily, "Neither can happen unless the snow, or will to fight is already there."

"Nice metaphor." She got to her feet and began to gather her things, "Obviously, since no one is going to come over and take our orders, I should go tear Reno away from the showgirls." She held his gaze for a split second. "About Yuffie…" Her tone became frantic, "You have to let me take her in…I have people counting on me, and Tseng…" Her eyes fell to the floor, then she looked at him resolutely, "Please." She beseeched softly, "You're not the only one who needs to live day to day."

Sephiroth rose as well, "Fine." He stated coldly.

* * *

Vincent Valentine watched his partner Michiko run over to gamble, her only vice besides biting her nails when she was tense. Sure, the two spies were on a mission for Acia, but everyone deserved a break sometime, right?

To his annoyance, he found that a young, petite girl had beaten the regulars at the pool table he had his name carved into because of his winning streak the last time he was here. He gave her the once over and decided that the kid must have charmed her way in.

She was certainly cute enough, with her nicely-proportioned figure, slim, willowy figure, short dark hair, and bronzed skin. Even more so with the white bandana she wore to keep her bangs off her forehead and out of her eyes, short cut-offs and low-cut tank top. Give her a few years, and he might consider going out with her. 

But her triumphant grin was more than maddening.

She was looking up into his eyes now. Clear innocence crashed into his crimson, blood-like depths. "Who're you?"

He smirked, brushed back his hair, and gave her the suave answer he usually saved for pretty girls. "The kind of guy who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'fear,' laughs in the face of danger and spits at death."

Her response wasn't the one he was accustomed to. The girl just crossed her arms and walked over until she was six inches from his chest, unimpressed. "So, in short, you're trying to tell me that you're a moron with suicidal tendencies."

_'She would make an excellent spy…' _Vincent found himself thinking, as he studied her. He was in charge of recruiting new members for Acia… he extended a hand, something he had never done before on a mission. And if he had, the person hadn't lived long enough to repeat…"Vincent Valentine."

She didn't accept it, but there was _that_ grin again. "Yuffie Kisaragi."

* * *

Tifa wondered if any of this was real.

She glanced back down at her drink almost timidly. '_That stuff_ _isn't too __strong, _is it?' _The corners of the room were still sharp, and…_

A sharp jab in the ribs from the showgirl told her she was awake. She barely acknowledged the other female say that her break had long since been over and leave, before sprinting out of the casino herself, turning in the same direction her target had. The violet-filled courtyard, was empty, without a trace of the silver-haired assassin. 

But then…wasn't he always like that? Disappearing without a trace, never to be found?

The roar of the synthetic waterfall pounding in her ears, her fists tingled at her sides, and her body yearned for battle as her anger came out in a single shout, "_Sephiroth!"_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Yes, Cid was based off Fred Lowe, and, yeah, Barret was the bartender. I had to have them in here somewhere, ne? 

Anyway, please leave a review... *puppy dog eyes* please? Next chapter will have…aw, you'll just have to figure it out on your own. Let me just say this. It has Rufus in it. 


	6. Chapter Six: Best Left Alone

Author's Note: The world is coming to an end. I've actually written almost an entire chapter about Vincent. I actually don't like Vincent, mostly because of his arrogant, blind, ditzy fangirls, but not all Vincent fans are bad! *nervous giggle* Some are actually pretty nice people, but... oh, never mind. I'll shut up now.  
  
Anyway, the pool table thing... There really *are* pool tables in casinos. I got shoved into one on a cruise during January and got a nice bruise on my hip, before an old hag found me in there and kicked me out because I was underaged, and she wouldn't listen to my pleas that I just wanted to get some money from my parents.  
  
Destiny in the Stars  
  
Neko Kuroban  
  
Chapter Six:  
  
Some Things are Best Left to Their Own Devices  
  
After winning five consecutive rounds of pool and losing twice in air hockey, Vincent turned to face Yuffie, "What about we take a break?"  
  
She blinked appealingly, giving him a misty, doe - eyed look that he saw right through, "But, don't you want to play pinball? I could beat you in that I bet..."  
  
The spy sighed internally, the thought of playing pinball against this spirited and optimistic, yet somehow alert and sneaky, girl was making his already sore thumbs ache. "How about I buy you a drink?" he suggested, already reaching into the pockets of his navy-blue slacks for his wallet.  
  
Yuffie's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms firmly over her chest. "I'm not going to steal anything for you and I am not going to lay on my back for you either, so don't you dare think even for one minute that just because you're spending money on me -"  
  
"I'm probably a better theif than you." Vincent interrupted, "And I like them prettier, not as scrawny, and older." He shoved a few neatly folded bills into her gloved palm, before striding out of the loud, crowded building. Beneath his cool exterior, he was mortified to think that she would assume that was his reason for offering, but then, in the universe, it was rare that anyone did anything free of charge.  
  
But, why had he admitted to her that he had been a theif?  
  
Brown- and green-stained glass from broken beer bottles crunched beneath his feet as he walked through a rather decrepit residential section. Suddenly he stopped, and picked up a chunk of cement that had broken off the sidewalk. Holding it in one hand, he snapped his arm down, the granite hurtling through the air. Vincent followed it's path, flinching mentally when a darkened window on one of the lower levels of a building shattered. He all but gasped when he saw which one was.  
  
It was a large, run - down apartment building, so much like the others he had passed, that it was unassuming and ordinary, but Vincent knew the shabby forest green awning and peeling gold script that read 'Flaming Heights' as well as he knew Michiko.  
  
With only a moment of hesitation, he walked through the automatic double doors, stopping at the desk. "I need to check out a place." He said bluntly.  
  
The aged man behind the counter sat up, and brushed a few strands of graying red hair aside to look at Vincent properly. "Check out a place, sir?"  
  
Vincent almost grinned at this man referring to him as 'sir.' "Yes. Is seven-thirteen available?"  
  
The man nodded and handed him a small card key, looking bewildered, "Name?"   
  
Vincent actually did grin this time, albeit coldly, it was hard for him not be cold whenever he thought about the past. "Vincent Valentine. Surely, you must remember the 'naive, scrawny little piece of crowbait' you threw onto the streets." He turned and sauntered toward the elevators, more confidentally than he felt.  
  
Arriving at the door, he slid the card key through the slot quickly, turning the door's handle the second the light flashed green.  
  
The tiny apartment was exactly the same as it had been, all those years ago when he was five, living with his mother, stepfather and stepsister. Even a few pieces of furniture was still there.  
  
Vincent swallowed an unexpected lump that had formed in the back of his throat, as he remembered how his mother and stepdad were leaving X150 for a week to search for a better place to live, as they believed that the slums of this gambling colony was not a wonderful or safe place to raise children. Only there had been a problem taking off, one that no one had ever bothered to explain to him. The shuttle had burst into flame, incinerating all fifty-nine passengers, before it had even left the colony's artificial atmosphere. The moment the memorial service was over, the landlord had evicted Vincent and his stepsister and eventually partner, Michiko, assuming that the state would take the two to the orphanage located in the nicer part of the colony.  
  
Instead, a man referred to simply as 'Crime-Lord' had found them a day later. He offered the two children many things including friends - mostly other orphans he had picked up in his travels - they could depend on, a place to live, and enough to eat. The only condition was that they would have to "run errands" for him in return. They took him up on the offer.  
  
The first time the two were caught - Crime-Lord liked to assign the kids he had 'recruited' in pairs and the two worked well together - wasn't so bad. Vincent, then seven, had been about to steal of a high-strung, apparently wealthy young woman who was there with her new husband, with Michiko as a look-out, when the little girl gasped sharply upon seeing a group of Galectic Police Officers. The noise startled Vincent, and caused his bent elbow to hit the woman in the ribcage. She immediately started shreiking about little street urchins, attracting the attention of the entire street.   
  
They had been held in custody for two and a half days after that, until Crime-Lord's charismatic older brother intervened. He owned a "respectable" insurance agency, and wasn't the type one would expect to take bribes to keep peace. With his honeyed tongue, he got the two out by claiming that they were his children who had been missing for almost three days (pushing back a wispy lock of white-blonde hair, he explained to the guard that Vincent took after his wife) and, of course, they would be given a stern talking-to by his wife, who was beside herself with worry over her two missing "angels".   
  
The second time was a few years later, due to the idiocy of moving in a group with the other kids, and they hadn't been punished - Crime-Lord and his assistants had never actually laid a finger on any of them, despite the many threats to the contrary.  
  
But the third time, when Michiko was caught by a random-passerby who recognized a photograph of her, because of her distinctive titan hair, and Vincent refused to let her go alone, was anguish as they both knew what the third arrest meant: hard labor for life.  
  
Vincent and Michiko were sent to one of the trading docks, a had managed to survive nicely for the better part of a year. A few weeks after Vincent's twelfth birthday, they were found by Acia.  
  
She was formidable, even at the age of fourteen, without her crimson general's uniform, and instead with a pressed blazer and green skirt, a thick plait falling over her shoulder. She had immediately walked to them, observing the two unload heavy crates that were marked fragile instead of the usual toss-the-box-onto-the-ground-then-move-them job Vincent was accustomed to. After a minute, she removed her jacket and skirt to reveal the black shorts she wore underneath, and dared Vincent to hit her once his break came along.   
  
At first he protested, but he sounded like he was whining, even to himself. Added the devilish smile she wore, how Michiko was loudly encouraging him from her seat on the metal platform, and the way a thick muscle-bound guy he had never said a word to in his life was warning him to never to hit a girl (they would "leave bruises and scratches that you'll remember for the rest o' your life, Valentine") ... it all made him clip her hard in the jaw.   
  
Acia had grinned at him, and he was on the defensive. He had managed to get a few good hits in, but eventually found himself on his back, her foot on top of his chest and a small dagger to his throat. "You're good." She murmured. Then she challenged Michiko in the same fashion. Acia had told them they were both talented, "too talented to be wasting away in this crap-hole" as she put it, she had the credentials to get anyone she wanted out of here due to her father and lineage, she could train them. It was a perfect oppurtunity, would they take it?  
  
Vincent was cautious, remembering his dealing with the Crime-Lord, but then the sable-haired girl looked at him firmly, as if giving an order. "I really must insist." She said, as if there would be no argument.  
  
He eventually agreed - he hadn't wanted to spend the rest of his life unloading and loading ships for other people.   
  
Vincent sighed presently, running a hand through his thick hair. They were all things he wanted to forget. But now, he sighed, shoulders slumping.   
  
He had nothing of his childhood left, save for the bracelet his mother had given him before they had boarded that shuttle, and his pride.   
  
No matter what happened, his pride was always there.  
  
It was a small comfort though. 


	7. Chapter Seven: Stained with Blood

**Destiny in the Stars**

**Neko Kuroban**

**Chapter Seven:**

**Stained**

"We are _screwed." Cloud muttered, "We are __so _completely_ __screwed. Words can __not describe to you, the level of screwation that were in." _

"'Screwation'?" Aeris repeated aloud. Abruptly, she stopped walking, and turned around to look up at him doubtfully. "Is that even a word?"

"Right now," he answered, strained for patience, "_Anything_ can be a word." 

Her brow wrinkled in thought, "Like 'hraldianyazkool'?"

Now it was his turn to look at her quizzically, "Hraldianyazkool? That doesn't even make sense!"

"It's no different than 'screwation,'" She commented lightly.

Cloud had trouble fending off a small smile, "At least 'screwation' can be understood! What's 'hraldianyazkool' supposed to mean anyway?"

He seemed to have hit a nerve, "Well, it could mean, that my legs are sore, I have blisters on my feet from walking, my arm is covered in my own blood from when I got clawed at by something that looked like a freakish mix of a hippopotamus and a squirrel – "

"Have you ever actually seen a hippopotamus?" Cloud asked.

"Well, no, but I've read about them," Aeris frowned at him thoughtfully. She knew he was just trying to distract her from her rant, and for that she was grateful. Some one had once told her that she would always regret words said in anger or irritation, and so far it had proved to be true. But, really, she felt like she should be able to rant once in awhile.

Their ship was reduced to what could barely be considered good enough for _scrap metal_, after landing wrong somewhere out in the midst of a dense jungle God-knows-where, there were no Chocobo forests nearby so those were out of the question, and she – no, _they_ - had been walking for almost a week. 

And Cloud _still confused her. One minute he'd be worried about her, and smiling at her jokes, as she tried to fill the hours with conversation – though never focused on _why_ she was here – and he sometimes – well, usually - contributed to the discussion easily enough, but then the next minute he would go cold, and refuse to tell her anything. The other night, she had been sitting with him, in a spot where the stars showed above a gab in the dense canopy of broad leaves. She had surprised him by pointing out two strangely bright stars that were all too close together, and mentioned the myth that was usually associated with them. He had never heard of it. She had recited the archaic legend, weaving her tale like a thread, casting her words around the both of them like a cloak in the bitter night._

The story of a wide-eyed, idealistic girl and a lonely outcast, destined to be together throughout the ages. They each intrigued the other. Opposites attract, and the heroine in the story desired the hero's easy, relaxed life and he often wondered what it would be like to be in her shoes, having the power to change things. Their love was tested over time, and persecuted by the fearful and those seeking power, just because of what the two of them were, but through out all of that, their bittersweet romance had prevailed, yet first the determined two of them had to give up something. Either she the skills she had taken the time to learn by the book, or he, the carefree life style they both desired.

Aeris's frown deepened, as she glanced up at the noonday sun filtering through, and plucked at the fabric of her shirt, peeling it away from her skin. _'I need a shower,'_ She thought miserably. The roar of water she had been hearing since this time yesterday only served to remind her of that fact, but it seemed all so much louder this time.

"Are you coming?" Cloud called. Apparently, their joking conversation was over, his cold tone signified that. 

She looked up to see that he was at least twenty meters away from her. She checked to make sure she still had her long staff with her and nodded, before breaking into a run to catch up with him – by the sound of it, they were nearing the water, and her mind soared at the idea of getting wet, or maybe swimming – the days in this place were scorching, but the nights were bitter. And, maybe, they would get to take a break…and perhaps during that break she would get to know him better? She was only a few feet away from him when it happened. Aeris stumbled, falling in a crumpled, undignified heap to the ground.

Cloud leaned over her, concerned when she didn't get up, and even more worried when he realized that there was nothing that she could've stepped on. "Aeris?" He questioned softly, "Aeris?" He repeated, just a little louder. She didn't move. Taking firm hold of her shoulders, and slipping one arm beneath her stomach, he rolled her onto her back. He could only stare, after swallowing the bile that had formed in his throat. 

Though the path had been smooth where she had fallen, with no rocks, Aeris's pink shirt was stained with crimson. And her eyes were only half-open, but Cloud could tell that they had changed to white. 

**…To Be Continued…**


	8. Chapter Eight: Revelations

**Author's Notes:** Why does it seem like I always end up updating this fic faster than my others? Oh, well. This chapter is way too short, and should've been combined with the last one. Anyway, as always, read and review! 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the other games / anime this fic was inspired by. Although, this plot (and this **very important, useless plot device revealing chapter) belong to me, the (not-so) great Neko Kuroban…**

**Destiny in the Stars**

**By: Neko Kuroban**

**Chapter Eight**

**Revelations** 

_"Failure is not an option with this one."_

The words still rang in his head, even after several hours. But, then again, that was probably the result Scarlet always intended with her voice: penetrating and hard to dispel. 

_'Bitch.'_ Sephiroth decided and rolled over onto his back, remembering how she had raised her slim golden eyebrows in mild surprise and amusement when she found out that he had not managed to find the Kisaragi girl. But, thankfully, she hadn't had any doubts that he was serious; Sephiroth allowed himself a bit of a smirk here, lying always had been something he did well.

This recent assignment, however... 

_"Do this quickly, Sephiroth. Use any means necessary to get the job done and get out of there. If you meet anyone on your way out, avoid eye contact if they're an underling, if they're a leader, I want you to kill them."_

He leaned back in his chair, thinking. Rufus Shinra would undoubtedly be heavily guarded, even more so since Scarlet's warning. But the guards should be easy to dispose of. And then, surely the president would've learned to defend himself somewhere along the line...A gloved hand moved up to rub at his temple. Sephiroth lowered it, staring at both of his hands. 

He wore gloves constantly, because he knew that his hands were stained with blood. It was invisible to anyone else, but the presence of the blood always made itself known...Always.

Ever since his first kill, it had happened, causing him to always wear gloves and long sleeves. Sephiroth still remembered the first person it had happened to...Tifa.

He hadn't realized what would happen at that time, years ago, and had made the mistake of touching her. She had been sitting in the middle of an empty corridor, with her arms folded across her chest and legs crossed, apparently waiting for something when he found her. Sephiroth had tapped her shoulder lightly from the side to get her attention. A thin trail of sticky crimson had appeared on the back of his bare hand and she had slumped forward immediately, her eyes closed, and skin rapidly paling. It had only lasted for two minutes, then the blood on his hand disappeared and she awoke, leaving both of them confused as to what had happened.

The second time, she had grabbed his hand, before he could finish pulling his gloves on. She hadn't felt the injury that time around, although it _had_ left its damage upon her once-flawless body, in the form of a thin, small scar, the line of discolored flesh running from beneath her left breast to her ribcage. Fortunately, she was convinced that it had happened the night prior, when she had slipped in the shower.

The day after that, he had given her the pendant – it had healing properties, in case the long sleeves and gloves he had vowed to wear after that failed – before he left for Misei, to consult with one of the last oracles. 

The snag-toothed, irritable old hag had told him that he was cursed, as a result of two old, magical bloods coming together in his blood. He had laughed at that. Damn it, it only made _sense that he was cursed, especially when he didn't even _want_ the magic he had been born with… The cranky bat had been offended and disappeared in a blaze, setting the room alight._

His skin had been covered when he pushed Tifa out of the way, luckily, but still…

Sephiroth sighed and shook his head lightly.

Now wasn't the time to think about such things.

**Author's Note: **

Okay, forget the love triangle, I'm having too much fun with Sephiroth and Tifa, but maybe there will be a love triangle other than Sephiroth / Tifa / Vincent. *evil malicious grin* 

Oh, and Rez? You've made this "blonde bimbo" smile. Everybody else, celebrate with me the first flame of undoubtedly many to come for my unorthodox crap storm! (term "crap storm" borrowed from an old issue of AnimeInvasion magazine that I found laying on the floor of my room.) 

Anyway, after I get back from week-long summer camp, I might take a break from this fanfic, at least until I have chapter three of Change of Heart up. (Shameless plug: Go read Change of Heart, my first (and maybe only) Final Fantasy IX fic!)

Please leave a review! 

Sayonara! Do Widzenia! Ja ne! Adios! Ciao! Bye!


	9. Chapter Nine: If Only

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except this plot, the original characters in my fic, and the most of the races that I've created for this fic. I don't own Emelan however, it belongs to Tamora Pierce. I was short on names, and was inspired to borrow it by a copy of 'Street Magic' lying on the floor of my room.

**Author's Notes:** Gah, I'm sorry for taking so long with this chapter! I'm gonna reconcile with my self by writing a longer chapter than usual. *gets down on knees and begs* please forgive me!

Anyways, this chapter is VERY important, in it, the stage is set for the next few chapters, and you finally find out Yuffie's secret. Angel of Silence, this chapter is for you! SO YOU HAD BETTER REVIEW THIS TIME AROUND, MISSY! And there's some SephTi… for anyone who likes that pairing. ^_^ Enjoy!

**Destiny in the Stars**

**By Neko Kuroban**

**Chapter Nine:**

**If only**

_'Why did he leave?'_ Yuffie wondered sulkily, as she walked aimlessly through the synthetic courtyard where Tifa had been only minutes before. She sat down heavily on a bench, folding her arms over her chest. _'Probably realized he was hanging out with a stupid kid who wasn't even old enough to drink. Or maybe it was something I said.'_ She leaned back, crossing her legs as she recalled her words to him.

_"I'm not going to steal anything for you, and I am _not_ going to lay on my back for you either. So don't you dare think, even for one minute that just because you're spending money on me – "_

The young ninja's tanned cheeks flushed, though she knew somewhere that saying that hadn't been entirely her blunder. True she often spoke before she thought, but her travels – seeing the tragedy and state the universe was in – had caused her innocence to be tainted, for her to become sharper and mistrustful of other's sincerity.

_'I'm going to apologize.'_  Yuffie decided suddenly, scuffing the sole of her yellow sneaker against the sidewalk. Normally, she would never consider giving someone she barely knew a backwards glance if she had offended them, but Vincent…somehow, Vincent Valentine was different from others.

Throwing out shining, white-gold cords of her power that the dark-haired girl knew were visible to her alone, she allowed the thick fibers of her _ki_ – the life energy of all things, it worked together alongside with magic, both woven together in the eternal waltz of time – to scan the large colony.

_'I can't believe I'm doing this.'_ She thought, slightly panicking.

She knew some would kill to learn her secret, or to use it for their own gain. It was the original reason her father had sent her away from Wutai, to keep her safe. She had scoffed at the time, saying that her running around the universe probably wasn't the best way to keep anyone from discovering her secret. Fortunately, she realized he was right, but still, she often tried not to use her ability to see and manipulate energy much.

Finally, something inside of her seemed to click, and Yuffie knew that one of her cords had found him.

***  
  


Hurriedly, Elena ducked into an empty women's – or specie equivalent to female's in some alien's cases – restroom. Looking into the mirror that ran along one wall, above the sinks, she smoothed her messy golden hair – it had been mussed during her run – and straightened her heavy uniform jacket as the door clicked shut. Only after locking it so that no one would disturb her – the hallway had seemed empty, but you could never guess about those kind of things, that was the first thing she had learned in training – she flipped on her loudly beeping communicator. "Sir!" She greeted, saluting, and praying that he didn't notice – or comment about - her odd surroundings, it was the only place she figured they didn't have security surveillance. She didn't want to go through another humiliating and awkward episode like the strip poker one.

"Elena." Tseng nodded at her, though his dark brown eyes were considerably warmer than his tone. "Listen," there was a strange, uncharacteristic urgency in his normally level voice that put her on edge, "Your new mission takes priority, above anything else – "

"What about Yuffie Kisaragi?" Elena asked, without thinking.

"Even the Kisaragi girl. Just forget about her for now." Tseng answered coolly, causing Elena's stiffened shoulders to slump. "Where are you?"

"Still at X-159, sir."

"Does Reno know of this new assignment?"

A faint blush dusted her cheeks, in embarrassment for both herself and her partner – she knew his sometimes scandalous behavior reflected poorly on them both, but his weaknesses surely caused more shame to her, Reno just didn't seem to mind, and, whenever she tried to change him, he went on the defensive, arguing that he _liked the way that he was. Though he was a year and seven months older then her, she sometimes found his attitude endearing. _'Like a little brother. Granted a dorky, perverted little brother who tries to get pictures of you in the shower to sell to his friends in the parking lot at school, but still, like a little brother.' _ Aloud she answered Tseng, "I was just looking for him."_

To her immense surprise, Tseng chuckled softly, the shadows of a smile turning his lips up at the corners. "Beer, gambling or women?"

Elena couldn't help herself, and she didn't want to; she grinned back broadly. "All three, I think."

She loved when he gave a true laugh of mirth. It was deep, and rich, even when it was barely audible. She adored his smile, as well, only more. He smirked often, yes, but those tiny half-smiles scared her sometimes. They were cold, cruel, calculating, with cynicism where there should be happiness at his success. However, his true, real smiles were like rare gemstones to her, made only more precious because of their rarity. They sent warmth sweeping over her heart. But she always knew it wouldn't last long. 

True to her prediction, his smile disappeared. "Don't find him."

The blonde blinked, "What?"

"I said, don't find him. This mission is for you alone."

"_What, might I ask, is so important about delivering a __disk to the president of a __weapons company, that Reno can't handle? Crap, why didn't you send one of the rookies or something? They need the experience more than I do."_

"You'll know in due time, Elena." Then, he cut the link off.

***  
  


Tifa ran to the landing docks, the sound of her boots echoing in her ears. Finally when the immense area of ships and space pods of all sizes, came into view, she stopped to clutch the stitch that felt like it had been tearing a hole in her side.

"Hey, kid, you want something?" An man asked, in the plain uniform of a registry officer. A day or two's worth of stubble was on his chin, his hair cut short on one side to reveal the paper-thin ridges cut into his long, slightly-pointed left ear, the mark of an Human-Aprophian hybrid. Branded as such, he would've undoubtedly been rejected by both societies he had been born into and 

surely many others, hybridization, especially between humans and aliens, was frowned upon by many specie. It was small wonder he had come here, in her opinion.

"Looking … for … someone …" She wheezed, in between raggedly gasping for breaths. He patiently waited a minute or so for her to regain her breath, then removed the small canteen of water at his waist, holding it out for her. Tifa unscrewed it quickly, draining the metal canister in one long sip. "He might've already left." She sighed, taking another deep breath, and handing him his canteen back. Though her breathing had slowed, her heart rate was still going quickly. "Have you seen anyone? He's kind of distinctive-looking…"

"Is the guy you're looking for pretty tall, with long silvery hair?" The man asked, "And he has kind of creepy bluish eyes?"

"Yes!" Tifa exclaimed, looking up at him. 

She was about to ask him to tell her more, when he continued of his own accord. "He just left. Wouldn't tell me much, but he said he was going to Emelan though."

"Thank you for all your help." Tifa chanced a smile, then looked down to study her white-gloved fist. 

"I'll be right back." He said, and ran into a small, windowless building. 

She barely noticed. Emelan was the habitable planet that Rufus Shinra's main headquarters were located on, this wouldn't be hard. Her heart tightened, slamming against her ribcage as she realized what his intent for going there may be. '_This has to end. Now.' The statement reassured her, making her feel powerful. '_Maybe…maybe he'll come in alive._' Though she knew that would never happen, Sephiroth was too proud for that to happen, it was nice to think about. The circumstances would have the potential to change, if she brought him in alive. She would still get her bounty, though it would be sharply cut for failing to kill him…it would still be more than enough, however. It was terribly unlikely, but possible that maybe he could get off on the trial all brought-in bounty's were faced to endure. The verdict was almost always 'guilty' with an execution in three days but, still… A slow smile made its way over her lovely face, as she pictured the two of them spending the rest of their lives on some random beach in Misei, living the rest of their still-young lives out in luxury to the sound of waves crashing on the shore. Nothing but the sun, sand, water and maybe a nice beach house, courtesy of her bounties and his rewards. She closed her eyes, reveling in her day dream. _

_They were sparring together on the beach, beneath the clear blue sky. Both barefoot and clad in bathing suits, it seemed to be more of mock-fighting than anything else, with the noon tide occasionally coming up to playfully lap at their ankles. She easily dodged – their skills had drastically improved over the last few years – and retaliated. He gave her a surprisingly boyish grin, catching her fist. She wriggled, trying in vain to yank her arm back. "Hey, let go."_

_His only response was a raise of a slender silver eyebrow. _

_She tried a kick, his other hand soon had her ankle in its grasp. Tifa grinned broadly, leaning forward, slightly. She lashed out at his shin playfully with her bare foot, forgetting that he had one of her legs captive, and fell forward, knocking him to the sand. Limbs freed, she straddled her husband's waist and leaned forward, loose tendrils of dark hair that had come out of her high ponytail falling forward to brush his face, as she pressed her lips against his own. The kiss was slightly salty – both of them had been sweating with the fight and the heat earlier – but felt so right. Her eyes closed, as he wrapped his arms around her, his tongue playing at her full lips teasingly, until she obligingly parted them. If she could, Tifa would've placed her arms around his neck, she settled for pressing at the sand above his shoulders, to help keep her balance. A slim hand reached up, undoing the thin strip of violet cloth, matching her bikini, that held her ponytail in place, dark russet hair falling around the two. _

However, the man she had been talking to had returned, and now he tapped her lightly on the shoulder, rudely dragging her back to reality. 

"What?" She snapped, annoyed at getting lost in her daydream. '_I can't think like that!_' She scolded herself furiously. '_My job is to kill him. I can not_ afford letting my personal emotions get in the way of this._'_

He had a small piece of paper in his hand, "If you need anything, advice or whatever, about your ship or anything else, just give me a call. This is my com link number," He handed her the scrap, and now she could see that there was a combination of numbers and letters written. 

She tried to commit the eight-characters to memory. '_089-KDT-45._'

He was still talking, "If you have any problems with your ship on your trip, just let me know. I'm Cid Highwind's apprentice."

Tifa smiled to herself as she tucked the paper into her pocket. Perhaps people on this colony were not all as rude and hostile as she had first believed. First there was that showgirl and now him…"You're an apprentice?" She asked. "How old are you anyway?" 

He blushed slightly, his pale, almost-blue cheeks – obviously a result of his Aprophian lineage - tingeing slightly purple. "Twenty-four in standard years, miss."

She couldn't hide her curiosity. "I thought apprenticeship only lasted until you were twenty-one. So why…?"

"I started late." He answered simply, as if that explained everything. Then his flush deepened. "Oh! I'm so sorry." He held out a hand, in the accepted style. "My name is Jet."

She shook his hand. "I'm Tifa." She nodded. "Thanks for all your help, Jet." 

He looked uncomfortable. "All I did was tell you where he was heading."

"It helped, okay?" She sighed, brushing her bangs aside. "Good-bye."

Tifa was heading to the oversized concreted area where ships were parked; to the space pod she had arrived on the colony in, when Jet called after her. "Bye! I wish you luck!" 

She stopped abruptly and turned around. "Luck?" She repeated, confused.

"Yeah, I hope you find your boyfriend!"

'_Sephiroth is NOT_ my-_Argh__!'' She bit her lip tightly to keep an angry remark down. After silently counting to ten, she asked. "Why do you think he's my boyfriend?" She demanded, her tone sharper than he would've liked._

"You were thinking about him, right? When I left? It was that look on your face! Tell me how it goes!" 

She stiffened, remembering exactly what she had been thinking about. Finally, she waved, forcing a mask of cheerfulness onto herself. "Don't worry, I will!" She lied. "Bye, Jet!"

After he had walked back into the building, she shook her head. '_What a weird guy._' 

**Author's Notes:** Heh. I enjoyed writing that chapter. ^^ It was fun. Anyway, as always, R&R. Next chapter is probably going to be about...Aeris and what happened to her! Remember, reviews make me write faster. *hint, hint* By the way, were almost halfway done with DitS! *cheers are heard in the back ground. Someone: Thank God!* Uh, there's gonna be a sequal too, if you guys want one. 


	10. Chapter Ten: In the Void

**Author's Notes:** Another update in the same week? (_gasp_) I'm getting good at this! This chapter was somewhat hard to write actually, it just didn't want to be written. ^^

**Warnings:** This fanfic is ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, meaning that the character's relationships with another might be skewered, their ages changed, their pasts different, and their meetings different. This chapter in particular is _very A/U and kind of dark. And kind of plot-revealing. _

**Destiny in the Stars**

**Neko Kuroban**

**Chapter Ten:**

**In the Void**

* * *

Aeris was inching towards consciousness in slow degrees. She lay on her stomach, head resting on her folded arms, with her misty  emerald eyes closed for a few moments, before muttering softly, out of the corner of her mouth, "Hey, Cloud, what time is it?" Her voice was oddly hoarse from disuse, her throat scratchy. There was no reply. '_Odd,' she thought to herself, without raising her head. He was usually awake long before her. Slightly worried, Aeris pushed herself into a sitting position and, standing up, forced her heavy - lidded eyes open._

Her first thoughts were that she was still asleep. 

Wherever she was, it was cold, and dark – not overbearingly so, but enough to prove to be a problem. Once her eyes had adjusted to the dimness, she began to notice flickers of light at the corner of her vision. However, when she turned her head to look, they were gone. Digging her teeth into her bottom lip roughly, she examined herself, flinching when she noticed that all she wore was a flimsy, translucent slip, barely falling to the middle of her thighs. The ivory garment seemed to be glowing – no, _she_ was…

'_This is a dream.' Aeris told herself firmly, and, feeling light-headed, raised her thin wrist to her mouth. She bit down as hard as she could. "Ow!" She exclaimed, wiping her arm off. "Okay," She said aloud, the sound of her own voice bringing her a bit of comfort in this strange place. "This is a very _realistic_ dream."_

**"This is no dream, child."** The voice was sharp and unfeeling, and neither masculine nor feminine, instead resting in between.

Aeris shivered, in spite of herself. "Who are you?" She asked, with more conviction than she truly felt.

**"They call me the Spirit. Nothing more, nothing less."**

She knew that she had heard of the Spirit before, but couldn't, for the life of her remember. "Where is this place?" 

**"They call this the Void."**

'_Well, that_ was a bloody load of help._' Aeris sat down, Indian-style on the 'floor', or what seemed to be the floor. "Who are 'they?'"_

**"Other's who have been here before you." **The words of the Spirit, of whom Aeris was almost sure was female, seemed to echo through her head. 

"Okay…" She struggled to find another question, "Why am I here?"

**"Does anyone ever know why they do anything, my dear child?"** Despite the address that could have been considered a term of endearment, the Spirit's voice remained harsh and cold. 

"I don't know." Aeris admitted at last. "Why do you call me child?"

**"I am as old as time itself. I should be able to call those much younger than me child." **There was satisfaction in the Spirit's tone, **"The Void is a strange place. People are sent here for different reasons. Punishment, enlightenment, torture…."**

The girl's mouth settled in a grim line, "How could this place enlighten _anybody_?"

**"Would you like to see what might have been, Aeris Gainsborough?"**

The white mage swallowed the bile that was rapidly rising in the back of her throat. "I … I suppose so," She answered softly, voice barely audible, and stood up. Reaching for courage she was not quite sure she had, she added, "But I want you to answer a question for me first."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Then, what sounded like a chuckle.** "You are in no position to make demands, little one." **The Spirit said, voice laced with barely hidden mirth, **"However, you amuse me. I am listening."**

The question was, oddly enough, hard to ask. "Why do you think I was sent here?" 

**"Perhaps you were sent here to be out of the way?" **

Aeris sighed, shoulders slumping. "It wouldn't make much difference." She muttered, more to herself than to the Spirit, scuffing her bared foot against the 'floor'. "It's not like I have any hidden talents. All I have is my magic, and even then, healing isn't much use to anyone. Healer's are common, all over the universe. And I'm not good at anything else – "

**"Save for modesty perhaps?" **The Spirit suggested, then instructed her to close her eyes.

The young mage did not comply. "Why –" She broke off as a iridescent haze wrapped around her willowy form, tugging at her. It thickened until she was unable to see much else than the gray fog. She felt a strange yanking sensation around her hips, and a tearing at her ribs. When the mist retreated enough for her to see within six feet of herself, she found she was standing on a stone pillar. She tried to move and found that her body refused to obey her commands. 

There was no choice but to allow the vision to complete itself. The vapor disappeared completely now, and Aeris swallowed sharply. Kneeling on an altar, constructed of marble and glass, was a female, perhaps a little older than herself, facing downward. The girl raised her head, looking straight at her, and she swallowed, realizing that that girl was herself. 

She could only see the back of the blonde youth who had approached, and watched as that Aeris smiled up at him, happiness evident in her bright eyes. '_Cloud…?_' She wondered, her mind racing even though she knew that he was probably nothing like 'her' Cloud Strife. Realizing she could move her neck, she looked up at the ceiling. It was domed, with crisscrossing wooden beams, untouched by the years, and a wide, gaping hole in the center where the ceiling opened up to the heavens to let the sunlight through.

Aeris noticed the black-clad form, and the flash of silver before her counterpart did. She tried to call out to the two, but her yell was lost in her throat, turning into a strangled cry that only she could hear. She wanted desperately to look away but was forced to watch as the long blade pierced the girl's stomach, and then...

Sharp shooting pain, starting at her abdomen, that blurred her vision, but she knew it was nothing compared to the ache her dying counterpart was experiencing. Suddenly pulling herself free of whatever spell had kept her from moving, Aeris lifted the edge of her slip, yanking it upwards to see that there was a thin crimson slash on her stomach. She pressed two fingers of her left hand to it, trying to fight against the blood flow that had yet to start. She still watched the scene unfold. 

Maybe… maybe if the assorted group that had appeared at the base of the series of pillars healed 'their' Aeris before that sword was removed, and before the body lost warmth. No… it was too late, the weapon was gone, and she would have instantly died.

The fog was beginning to return, but Aeris leaned as far forward as she could without toppling off the pillar, desperately trying to see the murderer better before it was too late. His aquamarine eyes flickered in her direction, and she gasped, unbidden tears welling up in her own jade orbs. '_No…_' She clenched her eyes shut, and drew in a deep breath, refusing to let herself cry. She began to count to twenty slowly, eyes closed like she had been taught, taking a long breath in between numbers. 

When she opened her eyes, she was back in the Void, and her denial, despite her counting to keep herself focused and her magic under control, had turned to anger. "Sephiroth would never kill me!" She exclaimed. Her voice was shrill, high-pitched and didn't sound at all like her normal self.

**"You know him?"**

Aeris's eyes narrowed, "You read my mind earlier to find out my name. You should have seen my memories as well."

**"I did see some ah… interesting childhood memories, dear child."**

"Don't call me that." White energy flickered, biting at the darkness surrounding her. "If you had seen childhood memories you definitely would've seen my memories of Seph as well." She snapped. 

The two of them had been childhood friends – not best friends, but they had definitely been very close to one another. She had considered him a brother to her, being an only child had gotten lonely sometimes. 

**"Tell me about him."**

"He… well, he was a few years older than me and…" Aeris chewed on her bottom lip pensively. _'What does she – he - it__ want to know?' Finally her thoughts came out in a jumbled heap. Stories of their first encounter, the way his casual magic had inspired her to pursue further study of her own, despite her young age, to how she had never seen him again after a strange day when she was twelve. The shadows – spirits of the dead from the first great war, they had returned after five thousand years and been tormenting the few denizens of Earth for the last few centuries - _

**"No, child, I am asking what he was to you." **

"Well, he was usually nice to me. As nice as he could be without picking on me all the time like all the other kids did then, I guess. I thought of him like an older brother, even though he wasn't that much older than me." Aeris sighed, "Oh, why am I even bothering to explain this to you?"

**"Because you are foolish."**

She didn't expect this reply. "What?"

**"Aeris Gainsborough,"** There was the same kind of amusement in the Spirit's voice as when she had asked why she was there, **"You are a selfish, foolish little girl, blinded by your own stupidity. You can't face your past, putting up a shield against your more recent memories and burrowing in old hopes and pain. You are constantly changing, to try to be what everyone wants you to be, without leaving any room to grow for yourself." **

Aeris's face had gone ashen, a spiky aura of pure magical energy was flickering around her, "_Shut UP." She growled softly. Her fists were clenched at her sides, and her stiffened frame was trembling uncontrollably._

The Spirit was still talking, **"You're unable to cope with the fact that your perfect little world is falling apart around you. Why else would you not believe in the vision of the alternate reality I have shown you?"**

"Because _that was another place. It wasn't __me, it could never be me there." She was dimly aware that she was ranting, but her head was aching, and her nails were digging into the flesh of her palms. "That was a different Aeris Gainsborough, with a different life and –"_

**"As I have said, you are unable to cope. Your old friend has become a murderer in the years you two have not been in contact. And, he suffers a curse because of refusal to accept his magical lineage, which exceeds even your own. Perhaps you could have played an indirect part in helping him, child?"** 

The Spirit, sounding smug, only waited a few seconds for an answer. When one didn't come, it continued.

**"And even more recently, a girl who ought to be one of your dearest companions had been hired by Rufus Shinra to kill Sephiroth, when she has spent three years without him, her love for him hidden behind layers. Maybe if you were still there you could have changed things, at least for Rufus? Instead, you denied him mere companionship, not a month after his father died."**

Aeris was visibly trembling now, her magic barely tamed as a single crystalline tear traced a moist path down her pale cheek. 

**"Also, do you remember that young Wutain girl who almost bumped into you at that spaceport?" **

Aeris's body shuddered violently again, being upset beyond speech. More tears fell. She had to admit that she recalled the girl; she regretted not grabbing the thief's arm for the enraged shop keeper who had given chase but lost the young ninja.

**"You had moved. If you had not, you could have delayed her journey slightly. She is in much danger. Not only is the poor girl wanted dead by the boy you used to consider a friend and think of as a dear brother, but faces charges by the Galaxy Police. Charges of theft, murder and treason of the only colony cluster that would accept someone of her reputation and blood lines. Also, she is toying with powers she does not understand in a non-life threatening situation."**

Aeris, even through the haze of pain, tears and fury, remembered the first rule of magic she had been taught. _"Never use any power you don't know if you can control." She herself had never been so close to breaking the rules, as she fought with her own magic. _

**"Her powers are different than yours. They are neither light nor dark, instead resting in the middle. She is not fit to be neutral, she is too young, too inexperienced, too fiery. Her powers have the potential to destroy her from the inside out."  **

'_What was there I could have done? Struck up a conversation?' It was more difficult now, she didn't know how much longer she would be able to control her rapidly surging power. Magical ability was increased in times of high emotion. _

**"And then there is Cloud. The poor dear, he has done nothing but care for you. When he offered to accompany you to Earth, you all but jumped up to accept his company. You have put his life in danger, mostly out of concern for your own. How many times has he been injured so far, due to protecting you. What if you could not heal him, what then? Did it ever cross your mind that he made that promise out of chivalry? Maybe he was just being polite because he hoped you would say that he need not go through such trouble?"**

That's when Aeris's final restraints on her magic broke.

**…To be Continued…**

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but the original character's who pop up in this fic, the plot, the Spirit, and the Void. So don't use it. I know everyone just loved the Spirit. ^^

**Author's Notes:** Don't you hate me? But a lot of plot points are revealed in this chapter. It makes me happy. ^^ And, Angel of Silence, I say that there's definitely a little bit of Seph/Tifa in this chapter. (evil grin) But maybe there'll be some in the next chapter. Which will probably be one of the longest to date.

I'm going to sound selfish saying this, but I want four reviews before I update with the next chapter. I just need to know if anyone's still reading this…


	11. Chapter Eleven: In the Past: Tifa

**Author's Notes:** 

This chapter is set in the past, mainly because I had writer's block and was thoroughly fed up with the sheer lack of Sephiroth and Tifa interaction. It was going to be a side-fic, until I realized that few people are aware of side-fics, and that it truly did not fit the category. Instead, I have decided, it would best fit the title of interlude. Actually, I am considering to have an 'In the Past' for each character, including Rufus.

Dedicated to Ice-Angel, who had been my inspiration… and is no more. I'm not even sure if she is reading this any longer.

Warning: While this is not a lemon, it comes very close to a lime, with implied sex. Skip this chapter if it makes you uncomfortable, a new chapter will be up within the week. Also, take in mind the not about AU differences I posted at the beginning of the last chapter. 

Destiny in the Stars: 

Chapter Eleven:

In the Past: Tifa

_'I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine…'_

Why was she doing this? The thought echoed through her mind dimly as she walked through the dark hallway, the only light coming from the tiny emergency lights set into the floor at even intervals. Her boots clutched firmly in hand, the young woman's socked feet made little noise against the floor. 

Tifa Lockhart did not need to glance around nervously; her stride was gentle and practiced. She had done this many times before.

It was to be another of their liaisons, a few quickly-passing minutes stolen together. A few brief moments where she could ignore the pressing fact that he was not just another one of the many faceless, useless trainees in the Elitist Military, like she was, rather a high-ranking officer, who was equipped with great skill, a dark, pensive kind of charisma, a deadly smirk and an even more dangerous blade. 

It would be easy for both of them to forget, for the moment, that he was nearly seven years her senior, and her commanding officer. Hopefully they would be able to ignore – briefly -  that their lives were not simple, would never be simple. 

She wanted to forget that they both had painful reasons for acting so much older than they truly were, and the threat of war was closer than ever. She wanted to forget everything she knew about emotional pain and suffering; she wanted to know nothing but comfort in his arms. 

It was only a few standard hours before their relationship would come to be shadowed with regret, only a standard month before his heritage – his trials and agitation, his desperate obsession for an answer as to who and what he was – would begin to drive them apart.

The electronic door opened soundlessly after she swiped the identification card in her pocket through the panel, and she padded softly into the empty training hall. Was it empty? Was she early? Was he late? No, he was never late. Always punctual always on time… Her eyes swiveled, locking on him.

Sephiroth was standing there, leaning against a heavy pillar, looking like an angel without wings, pure and silvery in the moonlight that filtered through the skylights. Though she had long since changed into casual, less restraining civilian clothes, he still wore his uniform, and Tifa longed to remove the heavy, thick fabric that only served to prove the differences between them.

He had his arms folded over his chest, his chiseled features expressionless, looking for all the world as apathetic and distant as nearly everyone pegged him to be.

Everyone except her.

Tifa could not – she could never even begin to try to - explain what had attracted him to her and vice-versa, except perhaps physical yearning. But lust did not, could not possibly reason the way he made her feel. 

It was an outpouring of far too many emotions she did not understand. A simple murmur in her ear would cause her to feel weak-kneed like she wanted protection, but every mingled breath they shared in each other's company  made her stronger. When ever he was around, she felt as if she were a heroine in a light-hearted romance who was reduced to a fluttering, insignificant, wanton woman and loved every second of it. Yet every time his blue-green eyes settled on her, she calmed immediately.

Tifa didn't like it. She hated emotions, especially those she associated with things she had missed throughout her life. Maybe it was love. Maybe it was lust. Or could it just be attraction, mingled with understanding?

They were similar creatures, he had once remarked, and as soon as the words passed his lips, she had known it was true. They could both have been fragile, dancing upon a spider web, if only they had allowed themselves to be. Tifa disliked being pitied – most likely a result of growing up in the rarely benevolent care of her detached uncle after her father had decided he was no longer sufficiently able to care for her – and Sephiroth detested being thought of as weak. They went to great lengths to prove themselves, and, yet, they both needed each other desperately. 

That same great, clawing _need_ leant her a the strength to saunter, hips swaying quite attractively, over to the untouchable-looking young man and smile sexily. "Hi," She whispered softly, her eyes drowning in his steady gaze. Drowning… drowning was a good word to describe him. She drowned in the intensity of him; drowned n his touch; drowned in the bliss he provided, even if that happiness was only a temporary thing. 

He looked down at her as if he was just seeing her for the first time, with those burning turquoise eyes, then placed his hands on her hips, fingers slipping beneath the very thin fabric of her shirt. His fingers were warm against her cold stomach, causing a shiver of pleasure to reverberate throughout her body.

She wanted to share his warmth. Tifa wasn't a confident person by nature, but she took a chance and kissed him.

Sephiroth seemed taken aback slightly – as startled as he could ever become in those days – that she had initiated the contact, but he returned it with just as much electricity. She moaned into his mouth with pleasure, as he pressed his tongue against hers. Finally, he pulled away, albeit reluctantly. "We have to stop this." He murmured.

'What?" Her russet eyebrows drew together in confusion and surprise. "Stop what?"

"Everything." His arm was around her waist completely now, but his eyes were downcast, his shoulders slumped slightly, posture hinting at shame to someone who could read him as well as Tifa could. "We can not keep doing this, Tifa."

The question, childish, bratty and annoying, slipped past her full, crimson lips before she could stop herself. "Why not?"

"Because I enjoy it too much. And I forget that you are only…" 

"Sephiroth, I'm eighteen. And as you have so often commented, I'm even more mature than that. I'm old enough and mature enough to make choices for myself."

He affirmed this with the slightest incline of his head. "I believe that. You have always acted so much older than you are – " He sighed. "Tifa, please understand, I care greatly for you –"

"Then why are you doing this to me?"

Sephiroth was silent for a long, silent moment. "Because I want you too much."

Tifa's wine-colored eyes locked onto his, serious and forceful. "Then, I am yours." She said, voice hardly above a whisper.

"Are you certain?" 

"I always know what I want." They stood in silence for a long moment, until Tifa stepped closer, digging her hands into the fabric of his coat. "Sephiroth, I want you to take me. Now." 

There was a beautiful woman offering herself to him, and his quarters were only an elevator ride away. 

It seemed slightly cliché to carry her, but neither of them thought that as she snuggled into his chest, staying closer, and breathing in his scent. He made her feel warm and protected like she never had before. She tried to think back to her childhood, and realized that no one had ever held her close before, never even when she cried. Tifa frowned slightly as she was jostled when he pressed the buttons on the elevator, and again when the door to his quarters opened at the coded entry. 

He set her down on his bed, standing almost regally between her parted legs. They were silent for a long moment, merely staring at each other in the darkness. 

Then Tifa broke her silence, by running her hand over the luxurious blankets and flashing her slightly lopsided grin, causing the dimple in her left cheek to appear. "Down blankets? Aren't you special."

This drew a slight chuckle from him. "It's an added perk of my position. The only perk, you see." His fingers settled on the small of her back, slowly and tantalizingly running up her spine, up the back of her neck, until they touched the top of her fashionable bun. "Tifa…" He whispered breathily. "I don't like your hair like this." Ignoring her scandalized expression, he slowly undid the heavy clips that held her hair up, causing the heavy locks to tumble down to her rear. He stroked her hair for several long, slow moments, arranging her thick tresses just the way he wanted. "Do you still want this?" He demanded. 

"Yes…" She mumbled, letting her hormones do the talking.

The moment he finished, Tifa got to her feet, and was undoing the polished brass buttons of his ebony military coat, she shoved it off his shoulders as best as she could before a pair of hot lips captured her own, distracting her. Her arms flew impulsively around his neck, and she gasped as he pushed her onto the bed, and straddled her waist, his lips still on top of hers. He pulled away from her mouth, then kissed her jaw, her neck… 

He began to undo her blouse, one button at a time, then whisked the fabric away, throwing it easily to the floor. He reached behind her, effortlessly unhooking her bra, then pulled the material away, revealing her fully, rosy breasts. Then continued to kiss his way down her collarbone… down her sternum… down… 

"Sephiroth," She gasped, her voice sounding faraway and faint, as he pressed a final, kiss to her navel and unbuttoned her pants. "That's so… sexy." Still breathless with pleasure, she co-operated with him as he pulled the cloth away, then yanked the light, synthetic-cotton shirt he wore over his head, and slowly began to remove the rest of his garments. Once finished, she pressed her bare self against his naked form. "Please, Sephiroth…" Tifa looked into his eyes, feeling the beginnings of doubt for the first time. "I just want us to be able to forget every thing… just for tonight…"

A murmured agreement, and then… in the darkness … they began. 

~~~  
  


Sephiroth slept very peacefully, his shallow breathing barely moving the heavy blanket above them. He looked almost delicate in his rest, like a porcelain doll, as opposed to a statue of some ancient, powerful god of war while he was awake. 

Tifa couldn't sleep, her mind wanted to stay awake, even though her body was exhausted. She pushed a silvery lock of hair away from the sculpted face she knew so well, and spoke, very softly. She didn't want to wake him, she just needed to rationalize her feeling aloud, something she hardly ever did. Tifa had nearly always been betrayed in some way by those she had confided in, so often times she kept things bottled up within her chest. 

"You confuse me, Seph." He never tolerated "pet names" while he was awake, but she couldn't help it, her throat was sore and her voice slightly erratic. "I know I'm fond of you, but I don't know what else … I figured I would find out tonight … but I didn't." She sighed. "When you said that you cared for me… were you really saying you loved me? _Do_ you love me?"

Like a fool, she waited for a reply, before releasing a breath she did not know she was holding, before flopping roughly onto her back, and, pulling the soft, warm blanket up to her chin, she fell into a slow slumber, still feeling that precious warmth left behind from their … encounter. 

~~~

Things looked different in the morning. 

Tifa sat up, holding the black silk sheets precariously over her chest, glancing around almost nervously. Sephiroth was gone, but Tifa could hear the sound of running water coming from the attached bathroom.

The overhead lights were on, and, with the lights on and without Sephiroth to drown in, for the first time she could examine her surroundings. 

The entire room smelt liked his intoxicating cologne… hell, even the sheets smelt like him. There was little ornamentation, but she could tell that his quarters were much nicer than what the lower-ranking officers received. The fabrics and furniture were slightly more luxurious – perhaps something more than the standard, cheap synthetics science had allowed to be created. There was a large case filled with books by the desk. Tifa smiled slightly. Books – and anything else created for pleasure - were hard to come by these days.  Her clothes were folded very neatly on a leather armchair near the bookcase, her boots placed at the side of the chair. 

On the thick mahogany – was it mahogany? She had never seen enough _real wood made into furniture to tell – desk, was a slim computer, cases of important-looking discs resting nearby, scattered amongst the piles of printouts. _

On a low shelf above the desk was a tiny incense burner, and a small statue of the serpentine water-dragon Leviathan, and another Wutain deity she didn't recognize – this one carved from some kind of electric blue stone. It was a woman, clad in a shawl draped over her shoulders, that fell to her thighs, thick cuffs around her wrists and feet, and little else. Also, there was a small, digital chronometer, flashing bright numbers at her. 

The moment her gaze fell onto the time, she slipped out of the warm bed, and crossed the room  in a hesitant walk, unlike her normal, trained stride, to the armchair. She pulled her cute, lavender panties on, and was in the middle of fastening her bra, when the full impact of what had happened between them hit her suddenly, bringing tears to her eyes.

_I gave myself to him,_ she realized. And she hadn't even given thought to the consequences. She had sacrificed something important to her, to someone she wasn't even positive she loved. She had always wanted to save herself for marriage – the practice itself was rare in those days, let alone saving yourself for it – but she had wanted to. And what had she done? She gave herself away, and she didn't even regret it. 

She didn't even regret it. That was the reason she cried. She had enjoyed it, she had loved it. She gave herself away to the first guy who said her wanted her, had never said he loved her… "I'm a whore." She whimpered softly.

Behind her, the door to the bathroom opened with a click, and Sephiroth stepped out, wearing another light, synthetic cotton shirt that hugged his muscled torso and his uniform pants. 

"Oh, you're up." He said. Tifa's back was to him. "I was afraid I was going to have to wake you - " Her shoulders shook, and he walked to her. "Tifa… what's wrong?"

"Everything…" She whispered brokenly. 

He pulled her into an one-armed embrace. She didn't resist, but she didn't return it, either. "I am sorry," he told her, voice carrying more emotion than she had ever heard from him before. 

"It's okay." She sniffled, knowing that it wasn't.

"No, it is _not_." He did something he rarely did, he sighed, savagely raking his hands through his damp hair. "I should have kept asking you until you knew what you wanted … and realized that you didn't know _what_ you wanted."

"Don't blame yourself." She mumbled, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Anyone else would." He sighed. "Damn it, Lockhart, I never should have said that I wanted you. I know that you would've been happy just holding hands because it was more than anyone had ever given you before." He was silent for a long moment.

"I kinda cornered you into it." She offered.

"We can't keep doing this…"

Tifa shrugged her narrow shoulders. "I'll attain rank in a month." She offered. "We'll be closer in rank then, and I'll officially be considered an adult by the Committee … so…" She trailed off helplessly.

He looked at her, beautiful eyes dancing. "Until then, we go back to superior and underling." 

The hints of a smile played on her lips. "Until then." Then she paused, "Um, for what it's worth… I really… enjoyed… being with you."

"I feel the same way." He pressed a brief kiss to her forehead, and took a step away from her, as if breaking off their union. He crossed to his closet, where he pulled out a clean, laundered military jacket, and slipped it on. Then, after buttoning it, he turned to leave. 

Sephiroth was nearly out the door, when Tifa called after him. "Wait!"

"Yes?" He turned to look at her.

"I've never seen you smile." She blurted out. "I want to see you smile." 

It only lasted a few seconds, but his smile seemed to be the most amazing thing she had ever seen. It wasn't exactly radiant and Tifa knew that he had only let up his mask because she asked him to, but the young woman was almost positive that the emotions behind it were genuine. His pale sculpted lips – lips she knew from experience were infinitely softer and warmer than they looked – parted slightly revealing, very straight, very even, very white teeth. Amusement was present in the aquamarine eyes she found it so easy to lose herself in, flickering softly like flames. Grinning back, she decided she liked his smile. It made him look almost … innocent.

He turned to leave, but halted after a single step. This time he didn't turn around. "Tifa."

"Yeah?"

"The answer to your questions …. For both of them was yes."

Immediately she knew he was speaking of the questions she had asked when he had supposedly been asleep. And, as she watched him leave his own bedroom, she realized that her answer to the question was yes as well. 

~~~  
  


Three years later, curled up in the cramped space pod, her answer was still yes, and she wanted him more than anything, even as the gases to put her in a temporary deep sleep entered her body.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Author's Notes**: Were they out of character? Even for an AU? Well, for the romance (ehh… kinda?) and drama fans I hope you liked that installment. I did pretty good for a girl without a boyfriend, ne?


	12. Interlude: Space

Space.   
  
Glittering and majestic.   
  
A child's small hand presses against the cold glass, brilliant aquamarine eyes, framed by short, silvery lashes, spellbound.   
  
His father is there, standing behind him, lost in conversation with a technician. The woman nods once, and says something the child is not lucky enough to overhear, then bows formally.   
  
She gives the child a glance - what it means the boy doesn't know - and walks from the room, pausing only to hit the button on the keypad that opens the doors.   
  
"Otousan," the boy calls, in his native tongue, his hand still on the glass. His father glances from the readouts he is scanning and pushes up his glasses, but does not look at the boy. The child believes that he has attention anyway, and asks. "Do you like it?"  
  
"Do I like what?"   
  
"Space..."  
  
The reply is sharp yet slightly downcast. "No."  
  
"Why not?" The boy asks, with all the inquistiveness of a child.  
  
"It is stained with blood... dying."  
  
"Like 'kaasan?" The boy asks softly, inaudibly. 


	13. Chapter Twelve: Running

She was running again.

_'I'm a coward.'_

Yuffie Kisaragi was always running.

_'Spineless and pathetic.'___

She was a whirlwind of activity, never able to stop, for fear of anything catching up to her. Running as she was, she would never have a chance to let pain into her life. But it kept the purity of happiness out. Now, she was tired of running. She desperately wanted a chance to breathe.

It was dangerous to stop here, she knew, but she needed air and she couldn't keep racing the wind. Her legs ached, and her heart was heavy, and so, she entered an alleyway. Sitting on the hard concrete, drawing her knees to her chest, trying to conserve heat.

She was so cold.

Her thoughts were disjointed and chaotic, and tears gathered behind her soot-colored eyelashes as she remembered another girl who had always been cold.

Her memories always seemed distant, as if they had happened to someone else. She knew why, it was because she always hid herself behind an optimistic, outgoing exterior. It wasn't a mask, over time it had become who she was.

She _was_ the carefree, mischievous Wutain princess, who liked to sprint from place to place, incapable of merely walking, and laugh, her laugh bubbling and sudden, and had no connection to a somber gray-eyed child who's mother had died of some strange sickness.

She had no connection to the part of her that was weeping in an alleyway.

She was the carefree teenager because she had no idea of what else she _could_ be.

Yuffie closed her eyes, trying to remember her mother. She could just barely remember a fog-clouded memory of a dark-haired woman, lying on a thin futon, with a weak smile that did not reach her eyes, and cool hands that felt as if they were made of the light, insubstantial bones in a bird's wing. She didn't know what happened next, but she knew that her father, who had been a different man then, had come in and taken Yuffie's small hand in his, and led her outside. Yuffie had been happy about something – maybe it was that her distant father had shown emotion towards her? But he had left seconds later, going back inside, while his young daughter played in the shadows of a _sakura _[1] tree, pink petals scattering in the breeze, too young to understand death or sickness.

When he came out, his face was ashen and the gray eyes his daughter had inherited were shadowed as he spoke to the child. A week later Yuffie understood that her '_kaasan_[2] wasn't coming home, and her clothes were in a suitcase. She was dressed in white – the white of Wutain mourning – her short dark hair and tanned skin sharp against her colorless kimono, as her father led her up the stairs of a tiny house in the mountains.

Then Godo Kisaragi left his daughter in the hands of his sister-in-law, not knowing of the cruel treatment the girl would receive, every beating followed by the whispered words, _"if you weren't such a horrible child, I wouldn't have to do this to you."_

Six years later, Yuffie returned home at her father's request, when Godo seemed to remember he finally had a daughter. Yuffie, pale and silent, had adopted a false, cheery personality.

Now she was alone.

_'Always alone.'___

Vaguely, she felt a knife dig into the taut flesh of her stomach.

_'Worthless.'_

Blood trickled down her stomach.

_'Worthless.'_ Her mind repeated.

* * *

[1] Sakura = cherry blossom

[2] 'kaasan/okaasan = mother.

'tousan/otousan = father


End file.
